


Nimrod

by mfel



Category: Vampyr (Video Game)
Genre: Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Mostly Post-Canon, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide, Torture, very slight canon divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-04-07 06:59:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 39
Words: 225,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19079881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mfel/pseuds/mfel
Summary: The world is held firmly in the grasp of the Spanish flu, when a young woman awakens on a pile of corpses with a sudden hunger for blood. Searching for answers, her path leads her to London where she finds something far worse than the Spanish flu raging. Still struggling to find her place in this new existence, the woman soon finds herself and her new allies trapped deeply in the machinations of a powerful enemy, whose plans turn out to be of a far larger scope than they first seemed…





	1. Awakening

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Resistance Admittance (2018)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14995094) by [JennyB](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JennyB/pseuds/JennyB). 
  * Inspired by [The Consequences of Friendship When You're Dead](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15257721) by [SaikaKuchiki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaikaKuchiki/pseuds/SaikaKuchiki). 



> This is the very first fanfiction I've ever wrote, so I'm kinda... nervous ~~so please go easy on me, will you?~~. I have already finished it (minus a little editing), so I'll be updating every day or every second day (I'd rather not promise you daily updates since real life can be obnoxiously time consuming, but I'll try). Also, neither my beta nor me are native speakers, so if you find any grave language mistakes, please tell me. Especially if those happen to be misused words since this kind of thing is likely to appear throughout the whole story if there are ones.
> 
> Regarding the works I tagged as being the inspiritation: The _story_ of this fic was _not_ inspired by any of the two, but two of the plot devices I used were inspired by them, hence the tags. I don't want to steal anyone's ideas, so I hope it's alright how I handled this. If you don't know the stories, I'd suggest you check them out, by they way, since they're both awesome (I recommend "The consequences of Friendship When You're Dead" especially for the Clarence lovers out there).
> 
> As you can probably imagine from the tags, this story gets occasionally really dark, even though I can assure you the suicide is _not_ carried out by a main character. However, if you think suicide or suicidal thoughts may trigger something for you, please _don't_ read on. The story also _won't_ focus on the romance and I've set the tags for Jonathan and Elisabeth more because the two are together in this fic and behave accordingly. Also, if you're looking for a short read, you'd better leave here - my word document has right now about 220k Words... ~~(of course I couldn't just settle on something short for my first fic, that'd be too easy)~~
> 
> Last but not least I want to thank my beta for putting up with me and reading this whole thing as well as my cousin for lending me her first name and therefore saving me from the embaressment of constantly forgetting the name of my main character during the first chapters (and yes, I am that bad with names -.-).

_Air. Fresh, cold air._ Gasping desperately, Julia sat up, feeling the cold night air filling her burning lungs. At first, she couldn’t do anything else than breath, just as if she’d been holding her breath for far too long. Her throat burned with the freezing air and after some time she managed to even her breathing, tugging her hand over her mouth in the hope to warm the air before it entered her her sore throat. Only that it wasn’t exactly the cold air hurting her throat, as she suddenly realized. It was more like… thirst. Burning, terrible thirst she had never experienced before.

_When… when was the last time I drank something? How long have I been here? And where exactly IS here?_ For the first time after her awakening, Julia took in her surroundings. Despite the darkness that seemed to extinguish all colours, she was able to make out quite clearly a dirty brick wall forming some sort of tunnel. Not far away she saw a wrought iron door, probably leading outside. As she got up, she realized that she was sitting on something soft and uneven that was somehow… sticky, leaving some substance on her hand. With a disgusted sneer, Julia brought up her left hand to see what was clinging to it, when the smell of whatever substance it was hit her nose. Suddenly, there was nothing in her mind but the burning, terrible thirst. The fluid clinging on her hand seemed to possess a red glow, calling to every fibre of her being. Desperately, she began to lick at it, the liquid tasting salty, and sweet, and oh, so delightful at the same time.

_More, I need more **.**_ With shaking legs, she stood finally up, not caring about the uneven surface. There was none of the liquid in it, and that was all that was important. She needed more of this liquid, she needed to quench this terrible thirst. Julia was halfway to the door as she suddenly heard a powerful, slow beating singing in her ears. It sounded somewhat familiar, even though she had the feeling that it was too slow to be entirely right. The sound seemed to be behind the wall on her left, moving closer to the door. Her steps now more resolute, she moved further to the door just as it opened, a tall figure carrying something big over its shoulder standing in it. The figure made some noises, as if it was speaking, but Julia didn’t understand any of the words over the siren call of the beating.

Now she could make out more of the delightful fluid, glowing inside the figure and moving slowly through its body. As fast as her feet took her, she moved towards it. The figure dropped the big object it was carrying upon her approach. It brought its hands up defensively and Julia felt something at her shoulder, pushing her back. Letting out an annoyed growl, she grabbed the figure forcefully at its shoulder and head, bringing its neck to her mouth. She felt it struggle, so strong that she was only barely able to hold at it, but that didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but the thirst burning inside of her.

_So thirsty_. With that thought she bit down, hard. And, finally, her mouth was filled completely with that delicious fluid, subsiding the terrible burning of her throat with every gulp. She felt the struggling become stronger, but so was she. At last, the thing in her arms stopped fighting and after a few more seconds nothing was left. Dropping the just drained being, Julia tilted her head back, savouring the ecstasy flowing through her body as she licked the last drops from her lips.

_A small flat, hands beating him, the furious face of his drunken father shouting at him. The docks, his hands shaking from the hard work. Shouts and gunshots everywhere, the air filled with the smell of blood, excrements and black powder in the trenches. An early returning home, with pills and the doctors saying his head wasn’t right anymore. No more work, nobody took a maniac like him, hunger. A stranger meeting him on the street, making an offer. Pain, searing pain and then thirst. A rush of delightfulness, and blood, so much blood. Countless faces, most of them strangers. The tunnel, a hideout. A place to hide corpses. Then a woman, approaching him from his hideout, pale with slow beating heart. Springing onto him, biting him, being stronger. **No. You can’t be stronger than me, I fed so much, like he said I should. You can’t be stronger. You can’t.**_

Awareness flooded back to Julia. Slowly, disbelieving, her gaze moved to the form lying on the floor. To the corpse, the corpse completely drained of its blood. By her. _What… what have I done? Why did I do this? What has become of me?_ Panicking, she backed away from the corpse, falling only a few steps after when tripping over something soft. Something soft, faintly smelling of blood. Horrified, Julia turned around, realizing that she just fell over another corpse. Another corpse also completely drained of its blood as her new senses told her oh so helpfully.

_Did I… did I do that, too? Did I kill TWO people and can’t even remember it?_ But no, that didn’t feel right. When she looked in the pale, horrified face of the corpse, it seemed vaguely familiar. _But I’ve never met the man, except… that can’t be? How is that even possible?_ , Julia thought as the memories of her victim flooded her mind again. Her victim, which had murdered this man just mere minutes ago. Her victim, which had not only murdered this, but several others. He had drained them completely of their blood, like she did with him. And now these others were lying on a pile in the tunnel. A pile she woke up at. _Is he… was he like me? And what AM I? A… vampire? But then why would I have another vampire as victim? How can that even be possible? Vampires aren’t supposed to be real, just stories grandpa used to tell us when we were young!_ Confused, she tried to sort through the memories bestowed upon her after her feeding. But they were muddy, confusing and most of them didn’t make any sense. _This doesn’t help. I need more time to figure this out, preferably at a place not reeking of vile and death. And sleep, I need to sleep. I’m so tired, how could I not realise this before?_ _But before I leave, I need to… I need to search his pockets. They might contain something helpful, information about who, or WHAT he was…_ With that, Julia at last got up again, taking now a closer look at… her victim.

He was of a small, thin build. His clothes were ragged, his hair messy and he hadn’t shaved for quite some time. Even in death, his eyes were bloodshot. All in all, he looked like a drug addict or a rough sleeper. Possibly both. His pockets were almost empty, her quick search only revealing a few coins and a folded piece of paper with an address and a time _: Back of Saint Joseph’s, Caledon Road, 10 p.m_. Julia’s brow furrowed. She knew the church, it wasn’t that far from her home. _Maybe I should go there… Tomorrow. When I’ve slept_. As she turned to leave, the pile of bodies came to her mind. _I can’t leave them like that. They need a proper burial. Or at least their family to know what happened, this bloody flu produces just too many corpses to make it likely to end in anything else than a mass grave nowadays_. Hesitantly, she went back to the place she woke up at.

There were four corpses dropped carelessly, forming a gruesome pile. Julia knew none of the faces, even though they seemed vaguely familiar due to the stolen memories. And vaguely similar since every single one of them wore the same, horror-struck expression. _Have I been one of them? Did I also lie here with that expression on my face?_ She did remember being attacked from behind, a hot, searing pain in her neck, her mind slowly fading as she grew weaker from the blood loss and the terrible cold when she lay in the dark alley, her heartbeat getting slower and slower. _Will… will they wake up again, like I did?_ That very thought froze her inners to ice. She remembered the thirst only too well. If it hadn’t been this… monster that came through the door, but an innocent stranger or even somebody she knew – she wouldn’t have cared. Wouldn’t even have realised before it was too late. And if one of them was to wake up as she did, they probably also wouldn’t. But then, what could she do? It wasn’t like she knew how to prevent something already dead from standing up again. And, she awoke on top of the corpses, didn’t she? So, if one of them was to wake up again, shouldn’t they already have done so?

_This doesn’t help. I need more information about how this works. And, more importantly, about this thirst._ Right now, it was only a small itching in her throat, nearly fading into the back of her mind, but then there was almost no blood around. Sighing, she lifted the first of the corpses, almost falling backwards since it was much easier than she had expected it to be. Julia moved the body with astonishingly little effort to the iron gate, which opened with a faint creak to a small footway next to the Liffey. Taking in her surroundings, Julia laid the corpse – a female in rough clothing in her forties – cautiously down onto the pavement, folding the hands over her chest.

“Sorry that I can’t do more for you”, she whispered.

_I think I know that bridge over there. I’m not far from home. And, also not far from where I was attacked_. Shuddering at the last thought, Julia headed back in, getting the next corpse. When she was done, all of them lay quite visibly on the footway, even including the vampire she had drained. _I guess I’m lucky no one passed by. Wouldn’t want to explain that._ Glancing a last time back at the bodies, Julia finally left, moving towards her flat. The streets of Dublin were eerily quiet, but then it was the middle of the night (well, actually almost morning) and there was a quite severe epidemic going on, along with the now hopefully ending war. When the sun was just beginning to rise, Julia arrived at her home, a somewhat decrepit looking, three-storey house. The thirst hadn’t stirred again on her way. _That’s_ _at least something. But then also nobody was around, except probably in the houses_. She didn’t hear anything from the other flats when she unlocked the door to her own rooms, not really caring about the surroundings but throwing herself immediately into her bed and not even bothering to take off her shoes. _Finally, I’m home_. And with that, Julia fell into a deep slumber.


	2. Vampires Having a Chat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the second chapter :). As you probably have realised, it's much longer than the first one, and the following chapters will have about the same length or be even longer than this one here, just so that you know what to expect.

_Wrapped tightly into her jacket, Julia went hurriedly through the cold night, her skirt swinging around her legs. She had been visiting a friend and it had gotten later than planned. She had to get up early for the work in the factory and her boss was always searching for reasons to scold her – running late was not an option. Deciding to take a shortcut in order to save time, Julia turned into a small alley. Already thinking about her warm, comfortable bed, she didn’t notice the figure approaching behind her until it was too late. All of a sudden, a hot, searing pain emerged in her throat, as if four small knives had been shoved into it. With a cry of pain, she tried to bring her hands to her neck, to get rid of WHATEVER caused this pain. Her hands were stopped shortly before reaching the source of her agony, however, another hand curling around her wrists with a cold, relentless grip. Julia struggled desperately as her head began to swim, her movements growing weaker and weaker._

_Just as she thought she would lose consciousness the assault ceased, her attacker letting her slide slowly to the ground. Her vision was blurry, getting slightly dark around the edges. She could feel her heartbeat slowing, each beat hurting in her chest. Before her eyelids closed, being too heavy to keep them open, she saw something moving in front of her, a dark form hovering over her face. Julia felt something dripping into her still open mouth, water maybe. It felt oddly warm for water, though, but then that could be because right now her body was cold, so terribly cold. She reflexively swallowed the liquid, tasting iron and salt, the taste somehow intoxicating. As she managed to open her eyes a last time, the form in front of her was gone. Even though it had probably been her attacker, Julia caught herself to wish it back – to be not left all alone, dying in this cold street. With a soft sigh, Julia let her eyelids close again right before her consciousness drifted away for good. But even unconscious, she felt the pain. She felt her heart slowing even more, before it stopped with a last painful thrust. She felt her body burning. FIRE. She was on FIRE!_

Julia awoke with a start. Even after awaking, the burning sensation didn’t subside, though it now concentrated on her right hand and arm. With a pained groan, Julia cradled her hand to her chest, gasping as she looked at its heavily burned state, the skin blackened and charred. _How did that happen? Is it burning inside here?_ But she didn’t see any fire, only her bed with its bedside table and her closet. The window shutters were slightly opened, leading the sun to weakly illuminate the room, a ray falling on the side of her bed. _The sun… The vampires of grandpa’s story were always burnt by it…_ Also the man, the vampire of last night, had been warned of the sun and its burning rays. _I need to get out of this room, into the dark. The corridor doesn’t have any windows._ Cautiously, Julia moved to the foot of her bed, avoiding the rays that illuminated the right side of her bed as well as the middle of the room, almost reaching the door.

 _I’m lucky. If the sun had wandered a little bit further already, my way out here’d be blocked. I’d better be fast._ Julia hadn’t even finished the thought completely when her body seemed to be moving suddenly on its own, and very fast, leaving her standing right in the doorframe. _What in god’s name? How did I just move that fast?_ , she wondered, puzzled. Leaning against the doorframe after she closed the door behind her, Julia rubbed her forehead, suddenly feeling dizzy. _None of this makes any sense. First, I’m randomly attacked on the street, dying in some dirty back alley. Fuck. I DIED. Joanna was right, I should’ve stayed instead of going home in the dead of the night._ But as if this wasn’t bad enough, she awoke again, _on a FUCKING PILE OF CORPSES. A pile of corpses left by some maniac, killing people to sate his thirst._ People he watched before, gathered information on them since their blood would strengthen him more if he knew more about them…

The memories of Julia’s victim, first muddled and blurry, were now much clearer, more sorted, even if still incomplete. She remembered his name now, Henry Porter. She remembered him growing up in a decrepit flat, his mother having died at his birth and his father being more time on booze than otherwise. She remembered him working on the docks and later fighting in the war, seeing far too many of his comrades die in the most gruesome ways. She remembered how something in his head broke, now not fearing death anymore but searching for it, preferably administered by his own hands. She remembered how he was sent home and his desperate search for a proper job, getting none. And then, a stranger approached him, a pale man in fine clothes, offering him eternal life and the possibility to indulge in his fantasies. She remembered him agreeing, and then being first bitten by the stranger before drinking his blood in turn.

 _Is this how vampires are made? First getting bitten and then drinking their blood? And if Henry was turned into a vampire by another vampire, who turned me? And why?_ Other than her, Henry wasn’t horrified after killing his first victim, but thrilled. The stranger, his maker, explained to him that he was an ekon now, blessed with eternal life and more strength and speed than any human was ever to possess. _Ekon? Is that another term for vampire? Or is it something else?_ He had also told his progeny, as he called Henry, that he should avoid the sun since he would feel like burning alive if caught in its rays. _Now that is something I can confirm._ Julia’s hand and arm were still slightly hurting, even though her hand wasn’t black anymore save for some spots. Astonished, she took a closer look at it, her brows rising in wonder as she could actually watch her skin healing over. _I wonder if this happens with all wounds or only with sunburns…_

But the man had told Henry not only about the gifts of ekons, how he called them, but also of Dublin being a hunting ground for his kind. About the different advantages and disadvantages of the districts. And about the districts belonging to different territories, warning Henry not to cross into another territory than his. Julia shook her head in disgust. This man, this maker of Henry was nothing than a vile beast, hunting down humans as if they were mere cattle. But all the talk about hunting grounds wasn’t even the worst part of the memory, the worst part was about embracing the thirst. About first studying a human and then killing him, getting stronger in the process. And that was exactly what Henry did, killing six humans in mere two and a half nights. Planning to kill even more in order to get stronger and to please his new master. The only thing stopping him was… herself. She remembered Henry being approached by a pale, shaking woman that he had never seen before. Herself. And she also remembered how she jumped at him, moving faster than even his eyes could gather. She hadn’t even realized that she moved this fast, thinking only about the blood in her victims’ veins. _I’m a monster. A monster that killed another monster._ … _But then brooding certainly won’t help._

At least she hadn’t killed any human, but just another monster. Yet. _I need to find out if all vampires are like this Henry and his maker or if there’s a way to… well, not being a monster? Maybe there’s a way to reverse this? Or to at least withstand the thirst?_ From Henry’s memories she knew now that it was possible to be around humans without attacking them instantly. _If Henry wasn’t the one who turned me into this_ – and he certainly wasn’t as his memories had told her – _then who did? Henry’s maker? Or another vampire? How many of them do even exist?_ All the murders had to attract attention after some time, didn’t they? _I need answers. And since I lack a better option, I probably should try to speak to Henry’s maker. Even if he is a beast, he’s the only other vampire, or ekon, or whatever I know of._ She knew now that Henry and his master wanted to meet this night at the time and address stated on the piece of paper she’d found in Henry’s pocket. _Well, he certainly won’t make this appointment. Might as well take his place then_ , she thought with a touch of black humour.

But she had still some time before the meeting should take place. Well, that, and before she even could move outside. Julia could almost sense the light pressing down on the walls of her flat. She moved to the bathroom, which luckily had only a small window facing the north-east. The to her eyes harsh light coming in from the window still didn’t feel pleasant on her skin, however, but closing the curtains helped easily. After washing her hands, only now realizing that her left hand had still had some old blood clinging to it (apparently blood as old as this didn’t appeal to her), she assessed herself in the mirror. Her gaze was met by a slender pale face with a straight nose and a full lipped mouth, surrounded by light brown hair tied together in a now quite messy plait. She opened her mouth, checking her teeth for any sign of fangs but found none. She actually didn’t look that much changed, sure a little bit paler and with veins visible under her skin, but nothing a little bit of makeup couldn’t fix. If it wasn’t for her eyes, at least. Once of a dark brown, they were now quite pale, the colour showing a mixture of blue and green. And they were also a little bit eerie, as if reflecting the light in an odd way. Most people probably wouldn’t notice it, nevertheless, especially if they hadn’t known her before. But Julia did notice, and she didn’t like it at all. She had liked her old eyes. _I was killed, rose from the dead to kill another killer and just found out that the tales my grandpa used to tell are running about in this very city, murdering people. And I seriously fuss about the colour of my eyes? Now that’s ridiculous._

With determined movements, she began to peel out of her jacket, noticing only now its torn, bloodied state. _I don’t think I’ll be able to use this one again anytime soon. It needs a serious amount of fixing. Lucky that I still have my old coat, even though aunt Susan always thought it to be not suited for a ‘proper’ woman. But then aunt Susan also wasn’t happy about me working in the factory, even as it kept us fed after uncle Paul fell in that goddamned war._ After washing herself up in the small basin of the bathroom, she changed into a plain blouse alongside with an overall she got when starting her job at the factory. It was slightly dirty as to be expected of something taken from the laundry bag, but then her options of clothing weren’t that many since her sleeping room containing her closet was still illuminated by the light of the afternoon’s sun.

Feeling much better now since the stale blood and dirt were gone and her hair wasn’t hanging into her face anymore, Julia headed to the kitchen. She didn’t really feel hungry and she also couldn’t remember Henry to have eaten anything (at least if you didn’t count his victims as meal, which Julia refused to do), but she wanted to test something. Opening the small larder (after closing the curtains of the kitchen window, which luckily also faced the north-east) Julia dug for some cheese she had left over after her last meal. Finding it after a short while, she unwrapped it and smelled at it cautiously. It didn’t smell bad to her, much like before even if more strongly. Nevertheless, something was amiss – the smell lacked something, maybe the appeal food normally had. Curiously, Julia took a small bite of it, almost spitting it out instantly. While the cheese didn’t smell bad to her, it certainly tasted like shit. Ignoring the foul taste, Julia chewed on the tiny bit and swallowed reluctantly, regretting it immediately afterwards. Her stomach revolted, and she made it only just to the toilet, vomiting violently. _Well, that’s settled. No normal food for me. At least I don’t have to worry anymore about the food being rationed._ Wiping her mouth, she flushed the toilet and slid to the ground. Her stomach still didn’t feel that well and she was getting increasingly tired. _Okay, I have to admit, eating was a bad idea. Should’ve known better._ Leaning her head against the tiled wall, Julia closed her eyes to rest for a little while.

 The room was completely dark when Julia woke up again. _How long did I sleep? Damn. I hope I didn’t miss that vampire_. She got up hastily, moving to the living room with a single jump. _Hm. This is getting easier, I don’t seem to feel dizzy anymore_ … The living room was also cast in shadows, but her eyes could easily make out the watch, nevertheless. _Half past six, so it’s just after sundown. I wonder if the rising sun made me feel this tired. Would kind of make sense, I guess._ So, she still had plenty of time since the walk to the church shouldn’t take her longer than 30 minutes. _I probably should use the time to get more accustomed to my new… abilities. That jumping could be useful if I have to run away. This ‘maker’ of Henry talked like an intelligent beast, after all._ Also, being able to defend herself wouldn’t be bad, she guessed. And for that, she knew just of the right thing, stored in her aunt’s and uncle’s closet. _I had hoped to be able to avoid that room for some more time_.

Sighing, Julia headed to her aunt’s and uncle’s bedroom, opening the door with a slight creak. The room smelled stale, abandoned. The bed was nicely made, fresh linen covering the thin mattress. Everything was in perfect order, no clothes lying around, not even a book or a glass of water on the bedside table. _Dead. That’s how this room feels. Dead like its inhabitants._ Trying to ignore her heavy heart, Julia opened the closet, stretching and getting on her toes to reach the top shelf. After some fumbling, she felt something hard brushing against her fingers. _There it is._ Cautiously, she took the object down, checking the gun for its condition. The barrel didn’t hold any ammunition, a fact easily resolved using the rounds also lying on the shelf. With practiced movements Julia buckled the holster over her blouse. _I’ve always thought uncle Paul was overdoing it when buying this thing and handing it to us before he left for the war. And now look at me._ She sighed again. _Time to get going._ After closing all the window shutters, just in case she was running late when returning, she took her worn, dark grey trench coat of its hook. The firm material covered the gun quite nicely, and as long as she left it open, she’d also be able to access it easily.

Julia spent the next three hours in the backyard, practising her new abilities while always being on the lookout for any watchers. She soon realised she was able to make out blood like it was glowing with some focus, letting anything else fade into the background. Even walls didn’t seem to be much of a hindrance, even though the sense got weaker with increasing distance. Fascinated, Julia spent at least 15 minutes watching rats running about in the yard and her neighbours moving in their flats. After some time, she was even able to listen to their conversations and to hear the heartbeats of the rats. And even though it was much too light and fast to be to her liking, Julia felt the hunger stirring. Alarmed, she withdrew her senses, her throat still feeling dry with thirst. _I should be more cautious with this._ She had already noticed her increased strength when moving the bodies, making it almost too easy for her to move the table standing at one side of the yard to the other. With some practice, she was also able to control the jumping much better, enabling her not only to move with incredible speed but also jumping over distances and heights otherwise impossible. _I wonder if I could even jump on roofs with some more practice – that would be incredible!_

* * *

 Consulting the old pocket watch that once had belonged to her father, Julia began her way to St Joseph’s at around half past nine. Since the streets were rather quiet, the epidemic making most of the people to stay inside, Julia encountered nobody on her way to the church. She looked around as she arrived, and soon spotted a figure standing in the backyard with slow beating heart when she used her new senses. She couldn’t sense anyone else nearby, save in the houses. Bracing herself, she made her way to the person, nervously clutching the edges of her coat. He stood with the back to her, turning around when she approached.

“Hello… I… I’m…”, she started, only to be interrupted by a hateful sneer.

“You have some nerves to invade my territory, young ekon!”, the man snarled, showing a set of impressive fangs when baring his teeth.

“No, I… I’m not, I just wanted to…” Julia stuttered, retreating backwards.

“I don’t care who sent you, or what game they’re playing. This is my domain now and I won’t have anyone poaching in it! Tearing you apart will send just the right signal, don’t you think?”, the other one growled, leaping at her. _FUCK!_ With a fast jump Julia retreated further back from the church and ran for the small path between the two houses that flanked the back of St Joseph’s.

 ** _Duck._** , a harsh, commanding voice echoed in her head. Instinctively, Julia followed the command, feeling a waft of air running over the top of her head as something very fast passed over it. With a sudden whoosh, the man stood right in front of her.

“Now where did you think you were going, young one?”, he teased, a cruel smile playing on the corners of his lips. With a fluid motion, he drew a dangerous looking dagger from a sheath fastened on his belt. “I think I’m going to enjoy this – maybe, if I wear you out enough, you and I might have a little fun before I release your body of its head…”

With that, he started to attack her furiously, Julia only barely being able to dodge and still getting cut badly at her left arm. Panicking, she jumped backwards, managing to go over a larger distance then in any of her training jumps and landing on the flat roof of one of the low buildings behind of the church. Her attacker didn’t seem to be in any hurry to follow her, however, only grinning at her retreat.

“Ah, sweetheart, don’t you play the shy one now. This will be fun, I promise! Well, for me at least…”

 _Yeah, that’s what YOU think, you fecking prick! Bringing the revolver really was the right decision_ , Julia thought as she drew the gun, aiming at her attacker’s chest and firing two shots in rapid succession. The shots echoed through the night, both hitting their target in the stomach, causing the man to curse violently.

“You want to play it hard, then? Fine with me, cunt!”, he spat, rising his left hand in front of his chest, from which some long, withering mass emerged. Julia was only just able to avoid getting hit by jumping on the roof of one of the other houses.

 _Did that beast just attack me by creating a spear made of feckin’ blood?_ Frantically, she aimed again at her attacker, hitting him at his shoulder. He flinched, but the hit didn’t really seem to stop him, her first hits already healing. The next few minutes were a blur of motion as he drew close to her again, alternating furious dagger attacks with occasional blood spears. Julia managed to shoot him once again, this time hitting his right thigh, her second shot only going into the church’s wall, however. Exhausted, she leaned against the wall of one of the houses, only barely being able to keep herself on her feet since several wounds bleeding all over her body weakened her.

“It would seem the game is coming to an end, young ekon”, her attacker smirked while he moved slowly towards her, assessing her body with a lecherous smile on his lips. His victim wouldn’t go anywhere soon, not in the sorry state she was.

“No, please… I just wanted to talk with you…” Julia pleaded, bringing her left hand up defensively. Suddenly, the vampire in front of her seemed to be frozen in his tracks.

 ** _Aim for the head. Make sure to strike home._** , the commanding voice echoed again in her head.

With shivering arms, Julia took aim and pulled the trigger, the sound of the weapon echoing through the yard. The vampire’s eyes went wide as the bullet went through his forehead, his body falling to the ground directly afterwards. Panting, Julia lowered the gun, eyeing the body in front of her suspiciously before cautiously moving towards it.

 _Is it over? Is he really dead?_ , she thought.

 ** _Yes. It is, and it won’t be able to rise again. Head or heart, these are the only two places to hit when killing a blood drinker. You would do well to remember this in your next fight, Childe._** There was that voice ringing in her head again. I was most definitely male, sounding firm and somewhat… old, even if the latter more due to its wording and accent.

 _What?!? Who are you? Why do I hear a voice inside my head? Am I going insane?_ Maybe all of this was only happening in her mind. Maybe she hadn’t become a monster at all, wasn’t standing in some backyard just having defeated another monster and bleeding all over. Maybe she was actually in some asylum, heavily drugged to keep her at bay.

 ** _Insane? Maybe you are. Or maybe you are the only sane one in a world insane – who am I to tell?_** _,_ the voice mused, its tone slightly amused _._

“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!”, Julia shouted, gripping her temples with her hands.

**_Oh, I am afraid this will not be possible, Childe. I will retreat for a while, however. You should consider going to London. Your presence there is direly needed. Also, you might be able to find some of the answers you are so desperate for there._ **

“London!? And why exactly should I go there? Do you think I’m just a puppet for you to order around?” The voice didn’t answer. “Fine. Don’t answer. Just be an enigmatic voice inside my head tellin’ me shit. But then don’t expect me to follow your orders, you fucker!”

Furiously, she crouched down next to the now ultimately dead vampire. Her throat was burning furiously with thirst, her stomach feeling terribly empty and her vision greying out anything besides the small stream of blood that was leaking out the wound at his forehead. But despite her terrible thirst, the blood didn’t really call to her. _Maybe ‘cause he’s dead. But I need… I need to drink something, anything to quench this terrible thirst_. Ignoring her disgust, she bit down into the corpse’s neck, taking a few gulps. It felt fine at first, a rush of delight calming her hunger, but suddenly Julia started to feel sick and backed away, gagging violently. Obviously, her body didn’t accept blood from a corpse in larger amounts. _Dammit. Maybe it’ll just get better with time? I mean, my wounds also heal way faster than they should…_ Deciding to worry later about her thirst (as far as this was possible since she was very aware of it with every painfully slowly second ticking by), she began to search the corpse’s pockets.

Julia didn’t feel very comfortable with searching the pocket of someone she’d just killed, but then he had tried to kill her first and had also probably done so with many people much more innocent than her. Plus, she needed any information about vampires she could get. Her search didn’t reveal much, however, just some keys she didn’t know for which lock, a small purse with money and a worn map of Dublin with lines parting the city into several districts. Some of them also seemed to have names aligned to them. _Are these the… territories that leech had spoken of?_ Maybe. _So, if there are different territories, there must be more of these creatures around – maybe not all of them are as hostile as he was. And maybe one of them was the one who turned me, or at least one of them knows who did._ She didn’t think that it was the now dead vampire in front of her since he had shown no sign of recognition when she approached.

 _Also, if I was his… progeny, he wouldn’t have attacked me, would he now? No, he most certainly wasn’t my maker. Maybe… that voice in my head – considering I’m NOT insane – might he be the one who turned me into this? But then I can’t remember Henry hearing the voice of HIS maker… Dammit. I need to speak with SOMEONE who knows more about that shit. But I’d probably do better to rest a little bit, first._ With a last glance at the dead body she decided to take the dagger he had attacked her so furiously with, too. _Next time, I’ll have a short-ranged weapon at hand, at least._ Not that she knew how to wield a blade properly, but then she reckoned sticking the pointy end into a possible opponent would do just fine.

With still shaky legs, even though most of her wounds seemed to have healed over, Julia went on her way home, lost in deep thoughts and therefore not paying much attention to her surroundings. Thoughts which were interrupted abruptly by the sound of a beating heart. Julia looked up, called by the siren song of the strong beating, a beating much more energetic and faster than the ones she’d heard from the vampires. _Enticing._ The thirst burning in her throat, she began to hunt for the source, her vision grey and faded. _There it is._ A figure, glowing with the precious liquid approached her, taller than her and talking in a worried tone. It didn’t matter. Only the beating, the red glow inside it and its delicious scent mattered. She needed to have it, badly. Julia smiled as the person in front of her drew nearer. _Yes, come to me._ She licked her lips in anticipation. The figure grabbed her shoulders still going on about something in a worried voice. Baring her teeth, now not human anymore but showing quite visibly her fangs, Julia let herself sink more into its arms, nearing the throat. The scent of its blood was overwhelming here. She inhaled deeply, savouring it, ready to bite down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand the first cliffhanger. You're welcome.


	3. Blood and Fights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I've already mentioned, I'm really bad with names. And this story has a lot of names, some of them being names from original characters. To make it easier for people who may have the same problems with that as I do, I'm using a neat little html trick called hovertext I've got from SoulStealer1987 (if you're into skyrim and also like the thieves guild, you really should check out their stories, btw). 
> 
> So, usually when I first mention an already introduced name in a chapter, you'll get a short description of who the person is that belongs to the name if you hover over it with your mouse. Same goes for names that have not been used in this story but in the game before, even though I will sometimes skip that on purpose (like when Julia doesn't know that person at all and I want to play with her lack of knowledge). I usually _won't_ do a hovertext if I've mentioned the name in the chapter already, since that'd be just ridiculous in cases where it turns up again and again in a paragraph (also, it'd be too much work).

Her fangs were just mere centimetres from its throat, when suddenly a harsh stench interrupted the smell calling to her so badly – “I’ve got some rum here, it’ll clean your wounds – oh god, all that blood! What happened, Julia? Were you attacked? You… you’re not having trouble with the gangs, have you?”

Aghast, Julia moved back from the arms holding her, looking into the worried face of a black-haired man in his mid-thirties. _Patrick_. _One of my co-workers. I’ve… I’ve almost killed one of my co-workers!_ She could still smell him, the sweetness of his blood calling to her and only faintly interfered by the sharp smell of the opened rum bottle in his hand.

“Julia? You hearin’ me? Girl, you’re ‘s pale as a feckin’ ghost! Here, sit down a lil bit” With that, he put a hand on her back, steadying her as she sat down on the sideway. The expression on his face was still extremely worried.

“Patrick… you… I… you’d better stay away from me”, Julia uttered, trying to sort through her thoughts despite the enticing smell radiating from the man. Not to mention his strong heartbeat still calling to her.

“So, it’s the gangs then? How…”

“No, I don’t have trouble with the gangs. But… I don’t feel well Patrick, and ’s not just because of the… blood, I didn’t feel well before…” Julia said, continuing hastily when she saw his troubled face “’s not the flu, don’t worry, I’ve already had it, remember? But I still don’t want you to get sick. Don’t worry, I don’t think it’s that bad…”

“Girl, you’re pale as fuck and you’ve got blood all over you!”, Patrick interrupted.

“Don’t worry, it isn’t mine”, Julia tried to reassure him since she didn’t want to explain her fast wound healing.

“Wait, what?” With widened eyes the man backed away from her. “What do you mean by that?”

“I… Patrick, **could you please just forget ‘bout the blood?** **I ran into some trouble when seeing the doctor…** ”

Patricks eyes glazed over. “Went to the doctor, eh? That’s the reason you weren’t working the last two days, girl? Boss was really out of it”

Julia blinked in surprise. _What… exactly have I done just now?_ “Aye, I was quite sick. Wasn’t even able to leave the house. It’s better now, but the doctor told me I’d better stay at home for a while, getting better and also ‘cause of the possible contagion…” She went along, forming the story while she went. _I didn’t even think about my work, damn it._ “Could you tell Stevenson that I won’t be coming for some time?”

“…’f course, girl. And you’re really alright?”, Patrick asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just need a little rest. I… I think I’d better get going. Greet the others, will you?” Trying to block out the thoughts about just grabbing the man and draining him until nothing was left, Julia got up and waved her goodbye.

“I… aye, sure. Just get better, yes?” Patrick looked at her, his gaze still somewhat glazed over.

“I’ll try”, Julia smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. _I don’t really think this is something I can ‘get better’ from… Shit, I’ll probably lose my job. I mean, it’s not like I can just go working in the factory during daylight hours. Damnit._ As fast as she could without drawing attention to her inhuman speed, she went away, leaving her co-worker standing on the street, still looking somewhat confused.

 _That was way too close. I… I almost killed him! I would’ve if not for the smell of that rum… I seriously need to do SOMETHING about that thirst. But what? Damn that fight, it was much better before, wasn’t that hard to withdraw before when I heard the rats…_ Julia stopped in her tracks. The rats. That blood also had stirred her thirst, hadn’t it? _Maybe… well, as disgusted as I am by the mere thought, it’s certainly worth a try._ With now even faster steps, Julia went back home, luckily unobserved. _Never thought I’d be happy ‘bout this place being a dump but finding rats certainly won’t be an issue thanks to it_ , Julia thought when entering the backyard of her house. And right, besides the enticing looking figures of her neighbours (now mostly unmoving and lying down, probably asleep), Julia could make out some smaller dots of blood, running around the trash bins.

Using her inhuman speed, she grabbed one of them and studied it. It was quite a big one, desperately struggling against her strong grip, occasionally biting – even though its teeth didn’t really hurt Julia. She could hear its heart beating, a weak, fast sound. Neither the smell nor the sound was really compelling to her, but it did stir something. Still hesitating, she brought the rat’s belly to her mouth, baring her fangs, and bit down. It tasted like mud. Nevertheless, she felt a small tingle of the sensation she knew from her first feeding, and the burn in her throat began slowly to subside. With a low growl, she bit down harder, draining the rodent completely. Still not satiated, she dropped its dead body and hunted for the next. Three rats later, her thirst was finally manageable again. Disgusted, Julia shoved the dead rats into the trash bin, still tasting the revolting taste on her lips. Her stomach didn’t complain, however. _I wonder if vampires can get sick. If so, I’m on the best way. But it’s still better than hurting anyone_ , she mused while heading back into her flat.

She was greeted by the quiet corridor of the deserted flat when peeling out of her coat, assessing its state. It was occasionally smeared with blood, especially at the left sleeve and around the belly. It was also cut up at some places where the dagger had hit her. Julia sighed. _I hate sewing. But well, let’s worry about the blood stains first. I can’t have my clothes going to shit in this rate,_ she thought, heading for the bathroom.

Two hours later, much cleaner and dressed in a fresh skirt and blouse since her overall was beyond saving and the blouse needed to see the laundry before using it again, Julia sat down in the living room, studying the map she had gotten from Henry’s maker with furrowed brows. It wasn’t in the best state and roughly drawn, so Julia had some trouble to decipher it. Also, she wasn’t really used to reading maps, only having seen some of them as child when still living with her parents. After some time, she was able to figure it out, nevertheless, as at least some of the bigger places like parks and bigger houses were helpfully labelled. _So, according to this, I’m right now in the territory belonging to a … Nella White? Hm, her territory doesn’t seem that big. I could try to find her, maybe she’s more amicable than the other one_. Julia used the next hour to study the map further, trying to memorize the territory borders as good as possible.

 _Well, I think I’ll try that tomorrow. ‘s better not to risk getting caught in the sun, plus my coat as well as that bloody jacket still need some patches. And I really should bring my dirty clothes to the laundry in the morning_. She grimaced. _Never liked all the household duties. Hm, probably one reason why I’ve never had many suitors. Aunt Susan had warned me I’d drive them off with my attitude._ Julia smirked when she remembered the words of her aunt. _But then it’s probably for the better now. At least I don’t have to worry about endangering a husband,_ she thought, her mood sinking. Shaking her head, she got up. _No use in further delaying the inconveniences. The sooner I start, the sooner I’ll be done._ Julia spent the rest of the night with rather menial tasks, getting increasingly annoyed by them and going to bed early.

 ** _You should consider going to London_** , the voice in her head said when Julia woke up.

“So, you’re here again? What exactly is this obsession with London you have?” The voice didn’t respond. “What now? Are you sulking? Why are you first bothering me only to withdraw again without giving any explanation?” The voice stayed quiet.

“Fine. Be like that. But then just LEAVE ME ALONE!” she snapped. _Great. Now I’m already shouting at a voice in my head. All sane persons do that, I’m sure of it._ Grumbling annoyedly, she got up, washing herself up and dressing in one of her few trousers she normally used for work along with a loose blouse. _I’d better make sure that I can move properly, in case I have to fight again. Running didn’t really cut it last time._

The rest of the night was spent prowling the streets, searching for the slow circulating blood flow and heartbeat that already had given away the other vampires Julia had encountered. The search went unsuccessfully, only interrupted by a short interlude leaving some dead rats behind. Frustrated, Julia went back to her flat, since she felt that the sun would be rising soon. _Now that was a waste of time. I wish I’d know where her hideout is. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack._ At least she had been able to get more accustomed with her abilities, now being able to not only jump on first-storey roofs but even reaching above the second storey.

The next night followed the same pattern, again Julia was awakened by the voice in her head, suggesting her to go to London and again she spent the whole night searching the streets finding nothing, except some rats leaving a disgusting taste in her mouth and a drunk trying to grope her. Julia solved the last problem easily, however, finding that vampires could be quite convincing if they wished so, proving her suspicions after her encounter with Patrick. _And again, another part of grandpa’s stories has been proven true. I wonder if it’s also true that we can’t enter inhabited houses without invitation… But then I didn’t have a problem with entering MY house – hm, does that count? Considering I live there, I should be able to invite myself in, kind of… Maybe I should try to visit someone – or better not, I mustn’t risk anybody’s life with my thirst._ Even though she had gotten better controlling it, not being overly troubled when encountering that drunken sod, she didn’t trust herself with it. Not after what almost happened to Patrick. Because of that, she had avoided humans during the last nights as much as possible, even though occasional encounters were inevitable.

* * *

**_You should consider going to London._ **

“Again? Don’t you have better things to do than pestering me with that stupid sentence?”, Julia responded to the voice waking her up the next evening. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t answer.

 _This is getting annoying. Couldn’t he just shut up? Or at least explain some things if he must pester me?_  Yawning, since she went to bed late after a fruitless search on the attic for some of her grandfather’s books, Julia got up and gathered her things. She had decided to use a different strategy in her search this time, using frequently the roofs to get a better overview of the streets and the houses. A plan that proved to be occasionally harder than thought, as some roofs had quite a slope or were only hardly accessible due to their height. _At least I get to train my jumping and balance, if nothing else_ , Julia thought while she stood on the roof of some pub, hearing below her the muted voices of the few patrons still out and about at this hour of night. Searchingly, she let her gaze wander around the surrounding houses. She was already preparing to jump back down onto the street again when she saw it. In one of the buildings across the yard was a figure with a slow beating heart – a heart beating too slow for a human.

 _That ought to be her. Or at least some other vampire._ Moving closer, she watched the figure curiously. It seemed to be talking to another person, its faster blood flow marking it as a human. _She… she’s not hunting, is she? Oh god, I hope not…_ Glancing around, Julia searched for the entrance of the house, wondering how she could stop the vampire if needed. _I’m not even sure if I’m able to enter the house – and even if, the last fight I had was damn close. Wouldn’t bet on winning the next one, especially not with such narrow surroundings as a corridor of that mansion block… No, if she’s hostile, going in there is suicide._

Gritting her teeth, Julia decided to wait until the figure left the house, using the spare time to take a closer look at her surroundings. The house had two entrances, one leading to the yard and another one to the street. The yard was quite crammed, several crates, barrels and occasional chairs and tables using most of the space. Only very few of the buildings had balconies, and the roofs were quite high, making them inaccessible with only one jump from the ground. _Not good. But then she hopefully leaves facing the street_. There the things were more to Julia’s liking, since the houses opposed to the one with the vampire had some balconies at a reasonable height and there was even one with a very low roof. Also, the street would give her enough space to move around freely, if needed. _Plus, it doesn’t have a door to that pub. If this is getting violent, I’d rather not have people interfering._ Gluing her eyes on the vampire, Julia moved on the roof of the house and waited.

She didn’t have to wait long, as the vampire ended its talk ten minutes later (thankfully, without ending the other’s life), heading downstairs for the entrance – the one facing for the street. _Yes._ Cautiously, Julia moved to the edge to the roof, when a blonde, slender figure dressed in a blue dress emerged from the house. Julia couldn’t make out her face, but the slow heartbeat together with the underlying grace of her movements told her everything she needed to know. With a low whoosh, Julia jumped down from the roof, landing some metres in front of the other vampire. She slowly raised her hands, showing that she held no weapons (well, she had of course the gun and the dagger under her coat, but the other one didn’t need to know that).

“I mean you no harm. Are you Mrs White?”, she asked. The woman in front of her, having pale skin and bloodshot, light-reflecting eyes with dark circles beneath them, glowered at her suspiciously.

“It’s Ms White. And yes, that would be me. What do you want? And why have you invaded my territory?”, she asked, her tone not completely hostile but far from warm.

Julia stayed still, gulping nervously. “I didn’t mean to invade your territory, and I’m not here to… poach”, she replied, stumbling a little bit over the last word. “I just wanted to ask you some questions”, she went on.

“Questions? Now, that is a new one. And what questions would be so important that you’d dare to invade another ekon’s territory uninvited?”, Ms White enquired, her tone cold as ice.

“I… You see, I’m… new. Newly… turned, that is. And I… I just hoped to find another one like me, to explain me some things. About… us. Our abilities. And the… thirst”, Julia stuttered, getting increasingly nervous under the other’s assessing gaze.

The woman in front of her smirked. “You’re a newborn then? Oh, I should have realized. But you’ve got something on you girl… Your smell is somehow… old.” She bared her teeth with a smile – not a friendly one, however. “But shouldn’t you ask these questions to your maker instead of a random ekon you encounter on the street?”

“I… I don’t really know who… it is. I woke up alone and I didn’t see him – or her – when it happened”. Julia glanced hopefully at the other. “It… it wouldn’t happen to be you, would it?” Ms White threw her head back and laughed.

“Me? No, sweetheart, I’m definitely not your maker”. Still grinning, she looked back to Julia. “So, you’re an unintended creation then. My, my, that doesn’t happen often. I guess I could tell you some things. And show you even more…” Nella brought her hand to her chest, slowly forming a fist. Her grin widened, turning nasty. “Or I could just eliminate the competition. My territory is small enough as it is, we don’t need another newborn prowling the streets and causing unwanted attention”.

With that, she closed her fist fully. Julia had already started retreating when suddenly the shadows under her feet came to life, erupting violently and throwing her against the wall of the house behind her. Julia rolled around, barely dodging the attack of the other woman as she leaped at her. _BOLLOX! Why does every single one of them have to be a murderous beast thinking of every other vampire only as a rival?!?_ , Julia thought while she got to her feet, jumping onto the roof of the house behind her. _Checking my surroundings before encountering her was a wise choice._

“You’re a fast one, newborn”, her opponent said, eyes narrowed, before she leaped after her.

Julia saw it coming, however, and was already retreating on a higher roof whilst drawing her revolver alongside with the dagger. Bringing her hand up, she froze Nella on the spot, using the time to aim and shoot at her. The shot only grazed the others vampire right ear, however, as Julia’s hand was, unaided by the other, not completely steady despite her improved strength.

“Damn”, she murmured, already retreating further as Nella began to move again, now obviously pissed.

Julia didn’t get far, however, since Ms White was suddenly in front of her, her hands forming claws slashing furiously at her. Julia managed to evade the attack mostly but fell from the roof in the process. Her new senses and abilities aided her, however, letting her turn around during the fall like a cat and landing on her feet graciously. Nella seemed quite unimpressed, following her from the roof within the blink of an eye. Julia tried to freeze her again, but it only made her hand hurt – obviously she couldn’t do things like that in such a rapid succession. The attempt did cost precious time, however, leading to a quite deep claw wound at Julia’s right hip.

Cursing furiously, Julia jumped on one of the balconies, aiming her gun this time at her opponent’s chest. This time the shot hit, even if not the heart. Nella growled angrily, forming a fist again. Julia knew what to expect now, so she hurriedly jumped back down again. A move her opponent obviously had anticipated, since Nella stood suddenly directly in front of her, confining Julia between her body and the wall behind her. Desperately, Julia tried to hit her attacker with the dagger. An effort that only earned her an amused smile as Nella clawed at her hand, disarming the newborn efficiently. Julia retreated to the wall as far as she could, wishing desperately to be able to just vanish in it. A wish, that was granted – sort of.

Nella narrowed her eyes, stopping only shortly in her movements as the newborn in front of her suddenly vanished. Stopping only shortly, but long enough for Julia to roll to the side. The young woman watched bewildered as the other vampire slashed at thin air. _Why is she… wait, she can’t see me? Now that’s something._ Grinning slightly, Julia moved cautiously behind her attacker, which was now carefully eyeing her surroundings. Julia could feel the invisibility slowly exhausting her. _I’ll probably only have one attempt. The gun would make too much noise, alarming her… I could however…_ Eyeing her opponent’s throat, Julia moved nearer, suddenly leaping at her and biting down hard. _Ecstasy. Joyful, blinding ecstasy._ Julia growled as her mouth was filled with blood, blood tasting so much better than rats. Nella struggled, trying to get the young vampire of her throat, but her efforts only made Julia growling louder, grabbing Nella tightly, not wanting to let go of the source of this delightful taste. Then, after a short while, her victim’s struggles ceased, until they stopped completely.

_Children laughing. A flush of white and green when running over a meadow. The taste of blood, somehow intoxicating. The feeling of a dying heart, to be reborn again. Training under a ruthless master of the name Raynard, teaching her how to fight, using her to enlarge his territory until she ceases usefulness and then chasing her out. Fights with other ekons, fights for her own territory. The face of countless victims, only cattle to her.  Blood, intoxicating, delightful. A dim lit cellar, chains attached on the wall with mortals writhing in them. A bloodied blade, causing bloodstreams licked away with cruel joy as her victims cried helplessly with pain. Countless conversations whenever the cellar was empty again, finding new sources of blood and joy. An unknown ekon approaching her after one of them, smelling old but moving like a young one. **You bested me! A mere newborn! Oh my, you are a strong one. Hopefully you’ll give the other bastards as much trouble as you gave me. They deserve it.**_

Coming back from the rush, Julia dropped Nella’s lifeless body. Her memories still played in Julia’s mind, haunting her, Nella’s thirst for a moment worsening Julia’s own despite having just drunk. Nella’s memories were clearly incomplete, as if she had somehow prevented Julia from getting everything. The ones she had gotten, however, were quite… disturbing. _My god, this woman was even worse than Henry – monster is even too nice to describe it_ , Julia thought as the faces and tastes of Nella’s countless victims flew through her mind. Disgusted, she picked up the dagger that still lay on the ground, stabbing it vigorously through her victim’s head. _Better safe than sorry with this one._ Julia knew she probably should feel bad, since she had just killed another sentient being. But somehow, she couldn’t really bring herself to see this woman, no, this leech, as a sentient being anymore. Not after what she had seen in the memories. Not after she had witnessed all this torture and murders, carried out without any remorse. Not after she had witnessed the intrigues that beast had spun against its own kind in order to gain power. Not after she had witnessed that endless hunt for the next source of blood, only listening to the instincts. _No. This was no SENTIENT being anymore. This was but a mere beast, driven by its lust for blood. I’ve done the world a favour putting it down._

She withdrew her blade, licking it clean from the blood without even really noticing what she was doing and sheathing it afterwards. As she went through the vampire’s pockets, however, she heard steps approaching from behind. Glancing up, she saw a group of three men coming towards her. One of them held a torch alongside with some kind of machete, whilst one of the others held a shotgun and the last one was armed with a rifle.

“It’s a leech! Kill it!” one of them cried as he saw her.

Cursing, Julia sprang onto the roof of the low building, a gunshot hitting the very spot she had stood before. The men didn’t hesitate long, aiming at her again. Still exhausted from the last time, Julia didn’t even try to get invisible again, but decided to spring on a nearby balcony, heading for the next roof afterwards.

“Damn, that leech is fast!” another one cried behind her, before a second shot rung through the air, this time only barely missing her.

The next few minutes Julia spent criss-crossing over the roofs, dodging gunshots as her hunters got reinforcement. Finally, she was able to shake them off after an especially daring jump over one of the bigger streets followed by hiding in a backyard, this time invisible again. _Who were these guys? And how did they recognize me that fast as a leech?_ , she wondered, still panting from the hunt. The men had shouted something about ‘Priwen shall prevail!’, whilst hunting her, maybe this ‘Priwen’ was their leader or group name or something.

Julia tried to sort through her newly gained memories on her way home, even though she payed now much more attention to her surroundings as she did before, since she knew now of possible hunters. Despite their incompleteness, the memories were somewhat helpful. She knew now that most ekons had, besides their inhuman speed and strength, special abilities. The kind of abilities seemed to vary, however, and even Nella hadn’t known on what exactly they depended. It seemed invisibility wasn’t unknown of for leeches and Nella herself had been quite apt in drawing the shadows to her help, letting them erupt beneath her victims’ feet. _I wonder if I could learn that, too. It seemed quite useful and as I’m obviously shitty with that dagger and guns are making a lot of noise, I should definitely consider this. Maybe I could try it out in a park or something…_ Nella’s memories also proved as an invaluable source of information about the vampires of the surrounding territories. None of them seemed to be any less a beast than Nella had been.

 _So, is that what we are reduced to? Vile beasts, roaming the streets in the search for our next victim and attacking our own kind on sight to get rid of possible competition?_ Julia shuddered at the thought. _How long will it take until I will be the same as them? No. I won’t let that happen. There MUST be some decent ones out there. Maybe they’re in hiding or something… I’ll just have to search for them. And if I put down some of the beastly ones on my way, I’m sure nobody will shed a tear._ She grinned maliciously. _Seems I’ve found a food source besides the rats after all. And with that… shadow veil, as Nella called it, I’ll be able to surprise them. Thanks to her I also know now how they look like and where to find them…_

* * *

**_You should consider going to London._ **

“And you should consider shutting up”, Julia grumbled, getting up.

She had spent some time trying to call the shadows like Nella did after the fight last night, failing pathetically and returning to her flat just before sunrise, frustrated. _Maybe I’ll get the knack of it tonight. I also should have a look at this map again, try to figure out where a peaceful vampire could hide…_ Two hours later, Julia was on her way through the city again. After some now somewhat more successful attempts to call the shadows to her aid, since she was now able to get them at least moving (even though it neither looked nor felt similar to the things Nella had done), she had decided to look at the borders between two territories, one of them being Nella’s and the other one belonging to a Sion Lucas. She knew from Nella’s memories that this Sion was strong, stronger than Nella or Henry’s maker. And he also liked to play with his victims before ending them. _Disgusting beast. Nevertheless, I’d better avoid him for the time being or at least make sure to surprise him._ She was hungry again, after all.

After the success of yesterday, Julia went for the roofs again, scanning the area for the slow blood flow giving away the undead. She didn’t have to search long, as she spotted two figures standing in a small alley soon after beginning her search, one of them having the typical weak heartbeat. Slowly, Julia moved nearer, using her shadow veil as she came close. Peeking cautiously over the rooftop, she accessed the situation. Below her stood two men, seemingly in conversation. One of them looked quite ragged, possibly a rough sleeper. The other one was of better attire, speaking in a low, soft voice. A voice Julia knew from Nella’s memory. _Shit. That is not a peaceful one. That is Sion. I’d better leg it._ She was already retreating when Sion suddenly jerked the head of the other man back, sinking his teeth into his victims’ neck. Without giving it a second thought, Julia leapt on him, pulling him off the man and biting his throat furiously with her own fangs. Sion was much stronger than Nella and Henry had been, however, and threw her off after only a few gulps. Snarling, he turned around to her, drawing a rather malicious looking sword.

“And who are you, interfering with my hunt? Go and get your own game!”

Julia sprang back on her feet, also snarling. “Game!? You’re nothin’ but a vile beast, hunting humans like they were mindless animals!”

Behind the leech in front of her, the ragged man seemed to have come finally back to his senses since he got up and turned to flee, panicked. His throat was still bleeding heavily, the scent distracting Julia for a short time. A distraction that almost cost her life, since she was brought back to reality as Sion’s sword was drawn through her belly. Blinded by pain, Julia drew back, feeling the sword retreating through her bowels, followed by a thick stream of blood. Only barely aware of her surroundings, Julia shadow-jumped further back the alley, fumbling under her coat for her gun.

“You should think about who is the ‘vile beast’ here, young lady. It was not me being distracted by the sweet blood of this mortal”, her opponent smirked, coming after her.

Desperately, Julia clenched her left over her belly, feeling the wound already healing, even if it was far from being healed over again. Glancing at her surroundings, she jumped on a low roof at the end of the alley, bringing up the gun. Sion left her not the time to shoot, however, as he was already following her onto the roof. Gritting her teeth, Julia removed her left from her still bleeding belly, bringing it up to freeze her opponent.

Sion grinned sardonically as Julia’s attempt backfired, only hurting her arm.

“Ooh, did you just try to freeze my blood, little one? You really shouldn’t have tried to play with the grown-ups. I’d say you’d better leave and try to play with somebody of your size. Maybe you could hold up against one or two skals, what do you think? I’ve heard there’re some hiding in the sewers” His grin went wider as he stepped slowly closer, Julia stumbling back to stay out of his reach. “Or maybe they might just take you in as their own, weak as you are. Ah, that could’ve been the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Too sad it won’t happen. But then examples have to be made…”

Bringing his blade down in a wide arc, he attacked her again. Only barely dodging, Julia retreated first further back, only to shadow-jump daringly over her opponent’s head afterwards. Rising her left again, she tried to call the shadows, letting them writhe beneath the other leech’s feet. It didn’t have the desired effect, however, as they didn’t explode, but just shuffled around his feet, trying inefficiently to grab them.

“And what’s that supposed to be? You’re pathetic”, Sion snorted.

 _Fuck, he really is strong_ , Julia thought, more than slightly panicking. Still further retreating as fast as she could, she tried to remember the exact location of the next border. _Hopefully he won’t go after me there_ … Drawing on her last reserves, she got invisible again. Sion, who already had drawn near again, narrowed his eyes shortly as she disappeared. It didn’t take him long to make her out with his vampiric senses, however, and he started to hunt after her as Julia ran for the border as fast as she could.

Julia heard the other following her and dropped her shadow veil since it didn’t seem to help. She ran as fast as she could, occasionally jumping over moving shadows called by Sion. Finally, she came to the street she knew marked the border, flinging herself on a low roof beyond it. She didn’t dare to spare any time looking back, however, so she kept on running until she was entirely spent. Panting, she stood on a low balcony, searching her surroundings. When finding no trace of her pursuer, she relaxed a little bit, but still didn’t let her guard down. Her breath was already steady again, thanks to her undead condition.

 _That… was one of the worst ideas I’ve ever had, including painting dad’s working room with elderberry juice… I hope at least that man made it out alive._ Cautiously, she assessed her belly’s state. It was still very sore, even though it was not bleeding anymore, the wound already being covered by fresh looking skin. The fast healing wasn’t without cost, however, as Julia’s throat burnt desperately with thirst, the hunger gnawing at her with even more force than after the fight with Henry’s maker. Her vision was already greyed out, showing her the outlines of an elderly man sleeping in a house nearby, as well as some rats in its backyard. Always leaving one eye on her surroundings in case Sion was hiding somewhere, Julia hunted for the rats, taking quite a few to get her thirst at least somewhat sated. Still hurting all over, she limped home afterwards, even if not without occasional unnecessary criss-crosses over various roof and hiding invisibly in backyards before moving on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case you haven't noticed by now - while I try to stick to the in-game lore, I did add an awful amount of things to it (hopefully in a fitting way), and I also occasionally did interpret things when you could interpret, possibly in a different way than you would do. So, you're warned now ;).


	4. Suicide Mission

**_You should consider going to London._ **

“Hmph.” _And you should go shoot yourself. But then both things probably ain’t gonna happen._

Even more than two weeks after her rebirth, the voice still nagged at her every evening, the sentence becoming more and more unnerving every time. Annoyed, Julia cast aside the blanket. She had spent the last ten days with her search for more peaceful leeches. She found none, however, only encountering the vile beasts she knew from Nella’s memories. Knowing that they’d attack her on sight, Julia hadn’t even tried to talk with them, surprising them from behind instead. A tactic that worked quite well, even though she had gotten into two more serious fights – fights Julia had almost enjoyed, as much as she loathed to admit it. Her last encounter, a leech going by the name Caleb, had provided her with some useful memories, however.

Aside from the constant violence and blood thirst Julia already knew from the other memories and also from her own short experience as an undead, he had known quite something about the men Julia had encountered after her fight with Nella. Apparently, they went by the name ‘Guard of Priwen’, a somewhat secret organisation, hellbent on destroying all vampires of Britain. A goal Julia appreciated, despite being one herself. She had seen the terrible things the other vampires had done in their memories, had heard the pleas and cries of their victims. They were only driven by hunger, a hunger she felt gnawing at herself every waking minute. Priwen had set up one of their outposts in Caleb’s territory and Julia had decided to have a closer look on it this night – maybe these hunters knew if leeches were able to exist peacefully, a hope Julia was abandoning more and more with each passing night. _If it’s not possible I’d probably better just end it here and now. Before I become a beast only driven by the thirst like the other ones._

It soon turned out that watching the guard’s outpost unnoticed was quite a challenge, since there were several patrols roaming the streets around it and at least one of the men belonging to them seemed to be able to sense Julia’s presence somehow despite her shadow veil. After playing some hide and seek, Julia had managed to get to a reasonably close distance to the building, however. Drawing on her vampiric senses, she made out several persons inside the building, some of them caught up in an agitated discussion. As Julia concentrated on them, she was able to make out the words.

“… should’ve been back already, I say we send reinforcements!”, a deep, hoarse voice sounded.

“She explicitly told us to wait with that ‘til sunrise. Are you suggesting to ignore a direct order?”, another one answered.

“So, what? We just oughta sit here and leave her to die? You know what McCullum said, that she always rushes into the worst situations without preparing properly and that we shouldn’t let her do something stupid!? You know ‘s well as I do that this fucking leech is one of the strongest on the northside! Her not being back right now probably means the worst and I’m not gonna sit on my hands while I could be outside there, helping!”, the first voice replied, its tone becoming more and more agitated.

“Yeah, that’s the best way to get good men killed, Johnson. Don’t you think that Daley had a reason when ordering us to stay put? If a squad with twelve men with her as a leader stood no chance, what do you think you can do? Draw all of the remaining guard out for a suicide mission? We’re already down on men as it is, ‘cause of that shit going on in London and that new leech here in town’s probably more trouble than all the other ones on the northside combined! I won’t waste any lives on your escapades!”, the second voice spat.

“Quiet, both of you”, a third, much calmer man interfered. “Johnson has a point, Lee. We can’t just sit here doing nothing while the lass gets herself killed. You know ‘s well ‘s I do that she thinks with her guts when she’d better used her bloody head first. We can’t risk losing any more men if that leech ‘s really strong enough to take out thirteen guards at once, however. So, I’d say we send some scouts, along with a medic. If she and her men are just too wounded to get back, this might save their life. Otherwise, we order them to retreat immediately. ’s probably to late then, anyway.”

The last man’s words where followed by a short silence. “Fine. We do it your way, Murray”, Johnson huffed.

“Sounds reasonable. Let’s send them right away to Arbour Hill”, Lee agreed.

_Arbour Hill?_ , Julia thought, alarmed. _That’s Sion’s territory. Fuck, that’s bad. _She remembered that leech’s blade cutting through her intestines all too well. There was a reason she had avoided the region at any cost since their first encounter. _However skilled that woman might be, I don’t see how a human stands a chance against such a beast._ As well as she didn’t, as had already been proven. _But I also can’t sit idly by whilst knowing that there’s a monster out there, killing humans._ The very thought disgusted her. _And if I’m gonna die, it at least happens as long as I’ve still got some humanity left. I’ve seen what beasts we become, and I can’t stand it_. Not caring about the rest of the conversation, Julia set off, making her way to Arbour Hill as fast as she could.

* * *

Senses on high alert, Julia went through the district, heading for a street with townhouses she knew from Nella’s memories to be nearby Sion’s hideout. As she drew nearer, she could smell an odour she knew only too well. _Blood. Human Blood. And it’s fresh._ Breathing shallowly through her mouth to get not overwhelmed by the scent, she moved cautiously nearer, going over the rooftops of the low houses. Now she could also make out a smooth voice, talking in a low tone. _That’s Sion. Fecking beast’s probably playing with his victims._ Using her shadow veil, Julia cautiously went nearer to the source of the voice, peeking just over the roof top.

The street in front of her looked like a battlefield. Various corpses were strewn on it, some of them seemed to have limbs ripped off. Most of them lay around the broken entrance of one of the row houses. The cobble stones were covered with fresh blood, the smell overwhelming Julia for a short moment. She fixed her gaze soon on the only person still standing, however. Sion. Carrying his sword carelessly in his right hand, he circled a small, huddled figure sitting on the ground, scolding her in a low voice. _Yes, he is toying around again._ Despite her wish to just leap at him, digging her fangs into his throat, Julia stayed put. She knew that Sion would take his time with his game, since the woman sitting on the ground was the last one alive.

_No need to make the same mistakes again. If I want to best him, I need to think before I act._ Moving silently more to the rooftop, Julia assessed her surroundings. The street was eerily quiet, the people in the houses all in hiding. The rooftops of the houses at the side of the street were all low enough to access them with a single jump, at least for her. Their slope would make for a poor standing if fighting on them, however. The blood on the ground would make it slippery and the corpses would make tripping whilst dodging likely. _Best thing’d be if he wouldn’t see me. But he was able to see through my shadow veil before and freezing him also didn’t work... Hmmm… Maybe…_ As she had decided for a tactic, Julia drew her gun. Sion was still circling the woman, bubbling some nonsense about the superiority of ekons. Knowing perfectly well of her revolvers inaccuracy when shooting over more than short distances, Julia aimed for the chest instead of the head.

The shot hit her victim right in the chest, sending him off balance. Julia didn’t wait for his reaction, however, shadow jumping onto the street within his blind angle and jumping on the opposite roof directly afterwards. Cursing, Sion looked around for his attacker when he was hit by a second bullet, this time at his neck. Again, Julia moved instantly after her shot, now going for the street, moving just behind him. This time, Sion sensed her, however, dodging her third bullet.

“You again! You really have some balls to attack me again, little one!” he snarled as he saw her.

Julia didn’t bother to answer and moved to one of the roofs again. She dodged the writhing shadows called by Sion easily since she had expected them. She wasn’t expecting the attack from behind, however, sending her flying of the roof right in front of Sion’s feet. She barely rolled to the side before his sword made impact with the ground, facing him and a figure seemingly made of shadows. Mentally cursing, Julia jumped back a few meters, now aiming for the shadowy figure. Her shot hit the figure right into its chest just before it reached her, making it dissipate. Sion still stood at the same spot as before, having managed to stop the bleeding of his chest but still losing quite some blood from his neck. Julia growled silently, her fangs descending as its smell called to her. Oh, how she wanted it! How she wanted to sink her fangs into his throat, ripping out his artery and indulging in the sweet taste of his blood! Her growl getting louder, she tried to shake off her bloodlust, shooting him again. This time she only hit his shoulder since he dodged. She jumped on one of the roofs, where she raised her hand and called for the shadows to aid her.

This time, they didn’t just uselessly wriggle at her opponent’s feet, but grabbed him mid-jump, chaining his arms and feet. Knowing that the shadows wouldn’t hold for long, Julia leaped at him, sinking her teeth into his throat. She growled in delight as she felt the sweet blood running down her throat, sending her mind to ecstasy. She felt him struggle, but the shadow tendrils kept him in place until it was too late. Tilting her head back as she savoured the rush, Julia let Sion’s limp body fall onto the ground. She didn’t get any memories off him, nevertheless. _He has probably already lost too much blood._ Licking her lips, she drew her dagger, driving it right through Sion’s heart. “You won’t get up again, you feckin’ beast”, Julia growled silently, before she licked the blood from the blade and sheathed it, still feeling the rush from the fight and the blood. Finally, she turned around to the woman that still sat on the ground, leaning against the dead body of one of the other guards.

It didn’t take a doctor’s degree to see that the woman wasn’t well at all. Her black hair was hanging messily into her pale, sweaty face and her left foot had a strange angle, as if the joint was broken. She was panting, every breath seemingly hurting, and she was bleeding severely from a wound at her neck. The gaze of her grey eyes was fierce, however, as she stared into Julia’s blue-green ones. Her right hand held a crossbow aimed at Julia’s chest, despite it being shivering.

“Don’t you come closer, leech”, the woman rasped with a low, hoarse voice.

“You’re badly injured, you’ll die if nobody bandages that wound”, Julia responded, raising her hands.

“I’m dying anyway. I don’t see why I shouldn’t take down another leech while doing so”, the woman huffed, her voice sounding pained and weary. Julia didn’t respond, but just jumped with a low whoosh directly in front of the woman, taking the crossbow from her shaking hand before she had a chance to pull the trigger. “Get your dirty hands of me, vermin!” Despite her obvious exhaustion, the woman tried to push Julia back, to no avail.

“Is it so hard to believe I only want to help you?”, Julia asked as she shoved the woman’s hands away, unwrapping the blood-soaked shawl from her neck in order to use it as a makeshift bandage.

“Helping me? A leech? Fat chance! You’re probably just playing some sick game before sinking your teeth into me, beast – at least do it straight forward, instead of toying with me!”, the woman spat.

 Julia didn’t respond first, fully occupied with her efforts to create a makeshift bandage whilst fighting back the urge to just bite down. Oh, how sweet her blood smelled, so much sweeter than any blood she had tasted from the leeches she bit. Gritting her teeth, the fangs fully extracted, she growled quietly as she fixed the shawl as strictly as possible around the woman’s neck without strangling her.

“So, there are no leeches with good intentions then?”, she asked as the wound was finally bandaged and the smell was more bearable again.

The injured woman snorted; her brow still sweaty. “A leech with good intentions? Ha, those don’t exist. Some of the new ones, maybe, but they all fall for the thirst, sooner or later”.

“They all fall? There are no exceptions then?”, Julia asked, her worst fears seemingly being true.

The woman smirked. “No exceptions. Vile beasts, all of them, needed to be put down before they rip the throat out of the ones they claimed to love just minutes before.” Julia stared at her. Slowly, she took up the crossbow she had taken from the woman’s hand before and laid it back into hers, aiming it at her own heart.

“Shoot me, then.”

Disbelieving, Ava looked into the leech’s pale eyes. They weren’t bloodshot at all, so it probably was a newborn. “What?”, Ava rasped, not believing her ears.

“I said, shoot me”, the beast responded. “If what you said is true, that’s the only solution”. Glancing aside, it added “This way I die at least with some humanity left, having hurt no one who didn’t deserve it”.

Ava narrowed her eyes, her finger curling around the trigger, the crossbow aiming steadily at the leech’s heart despite her shaking hand, since the leech itself helped steadying it. “No one deserves to die by the hands of a leech, beast”, she snarled.

The creature in front of her bared its fangs. “You didn’t see what I saw. These leeches”, it spat, “they weren’t sentient anymore. Just beasts, needed to be put down, like you said. Believe me, they deserved everything they’ve gotten.”

For a short while, both went quiet as the words sank in. Ava’s finger was still curled around the trigger, but she couldn’t bring herself to shoot – not yet. Something about this leech was… off. Suppressing a pained groan as Ava felt her body cramp due to the poisoning caused by her torn kidney, she finally answered. “You… you’re the one that killed all those leeches on the northside, aren’t you? The new player, claiming a new territory of terrifying size? How many of yours did you kill? Six?”, she groaned in a hoarse voice. The creature glanced at her, surprised.

“Claiming a new… territory?”, it asked, sounding somewhat baffled. “I… no…” it frowned. “I didn’t put them down to gain a territory”, it finally spat, “but because they were monsters. Violent beasts, roamin’ the streets only on the lookout for their next victim! And actually”, it added almost proudly, “I’ve killed seven of them”.

Ava huffed. “Sure, that’s a likely story, a leech killing its own cause it doesn’t like them to be murderers!”. Still, the monster’s words rang somewhat true. Its eyes showed that it didn’t indulge itself in blood, despite obviously being quite strong. Also, it sat calmly in front of her, surrounded by blood, just having cared to Ava’s wound instead of biting down. Oh, she had seen its teeth extracting, heard its growling but it hadn’t bitten down.

“Well, that doesn’t matter, does it now?”, the leech suddenly stated after a short silence, only filled with Ava’s increasingly ragged breathing. “You’re gonna shoot me anyway. Putting down another monster”.

Ava furrowed her brow. “Just out of interest, leech, why are you so keen on being shot? I’ve never encountered one of yours with so little self-preservation”.

The beast huffed, seemingly annoyed. “So, what would you do, if you were me? Wait ‘til you fall for the thirst and actually kill a human? I can’t let that happen!”

“So, you claim to never have killed a human?”, Ava asked, disbelieving.

The leech growled, now obviously pissed off. “No. I didn’t. And I won’t if you’d finally do your feckin’ job, huntress.”

Ava shook her head, groaning as the movement added a sharp pain in her throat to the one she felt throughout her body. Curiously, she assessed the leech in front of her. Its face wore a pained expression, its pale eyes showing a deep sadness. She could see it biting on its lip, subconsciously swallowing when it breathed in. _Could it be true? A leech, killing leeches? A leech, not killing humans but trying to aid a dying woman?_ She scolded herself for the very thought. _Probably it’s just toying around. Making me believe things with its fucking Mesmer._ She knew of their sick games, knew Geoffrey’s story, had seen him grieve over his parents when he was a boy. And later, over his brother as he fell for the thirst and became a monster, too. She had seen her formerly best friend turning into a vile beast. There were no decent leeches. Only monsters. And still… _why would it do that? I’m dying anyway, and I don’t see what it’d gain by getting shot by me._ Something about that leech was different. Her head told her to just pull the trigger, to end it and be over with it before death claimed her. Her guts on the other hand – what if Geoffrey had been wrong, and she had been right, those many years ago? Maybe, this time, things could be done her way…

“No.”

Unbelieving, the leech looked into the huntress’ eyes. “Why? Isn’t that what you people do, putting down monsters? Or are you just too much of a coward?”, it asked, its voice rising.

Ava smiled weakly. “Aye, that’s what Priwen does. We put down monsters, as many as we can, actually”. She let out another pained groan as she moved slightly in the hope to lessen the pain. “Which means that killing you would actually compromise that goal”, she added, her voice low but firm.

The creature stared at her, wide-eyed. “I… don’t understand”.

“It’s easy, leech”, Ava groaned, the pain now more evident in her voice. “You see, I won’t be around for long anymore. I’m dying. And as much as I hate to admit it, you’ve put down as many leeches in two weeks than Priwen did in the last few _months_ , at least when it comes to Dublin. As I see it, putting you down would mean putting down one monster but leaving more monsters roaming about. If I let you live, however, you’ll probably put down more leeches than we could. It’s simple maths, really”.

“You can’t be serious!”, the leech snarled. “First of all, you’re not gonna die. I’ve overheard some of you guys, they’re sending help. A medic’s already on their way. And even if, how can you take such a risk? I might be a monster that kills other monsters, but I _am_ a monster, nevertheless! I’ve seen the thoughts of the other ones; I’ve seen the hunger that gnawed at them and turned them into these vile beasts, and I feel this very same hunger gnawin’ at _me_ with every beat your heart makes!”.

Ava shook faintly her head. “I’m dying, leech, that medic won’t help me anymore. Fucking beast tore my kidney, its poisoning me right now. And ‘bout that risk you’re talking of… I think I’ll take it. Even if you take only some leeches down before you also fall, it’s some leeches less for Priwen to fight. Also…”, she took in a deep, pained breath, fumbling at her crossbow and shoving it towards the leech “this doesn’t come without a price. I want you to promise me something”.

The leech just stared at her. “Promise you something? And why do you think I’d keep that promise?”

“I… just have a feeling. Trusted my feelings always more than was good for me, I s’pose. However, I just hope that you cherish the last wish of a dying woman. As for the promise”, Ava locked her eyes with the leech. “I want you to keep fighting. To keep fighting the hunger, but also the leeches. I won’t be around to do my duty anymore, so I need a substitute, someone who takes over this fight and protects the humans from the beasts. Do you think you can promise that, leech?” She kept her gaze locked with the leech’s, their hands touching on the crossbow.

_A substitute?_ _This woman is sworn to destroy monsters like me and wants me to be her substitute killing off leeches!?_ “I… I promise that I’ll fight. But the risk…”

“Is worth the possible gain.”, the huntress responded. “Take my crossbow then. There are spare bolts in…” she gasped, the pain obvious in her features “… in the bag at my belt. Take them too, you’ll need them. I’ve seen that you’re a quite decent shot and you’ll find the crossbow to be much more accurate and quieter than that gun you have there”.

Hesitantly, Julia took the crossbow from the woman’s hands, shuffling for the spare bolts afterwards. “I… I don’t know what to say…” she said, still trying to process all of this.

“Just shut up, then, and leg it before the reinforcement’s coming. They won’t be as lenient as I am…”, the woman huffed, her voice strained.

“No”, the leech said with a firm voice. “No, I won’t. I won’t let you die alone. Been there, and it sucks.” Glancing aside, it added “I know that a feckin’ leech probably isn’t the best company, but still…”.

After that, it went quiet. Listening to the leech’s low, even breathing and to her own ragged one, Ava let the seconds tick by, the pain now not increasing anymore but somewhat ceasing as her body went colder and colder. “What’s… what’s your name, leech?” she asked, her voice sounding ragged.

“… Julia. Julia Leigh. And yours?”, the creature answered.

“Ava… Daley”, Ava responded, each word getting increasingly exhausting.

“Daley?”, the blood drinker asked. “I’ve heard the other guards talking about you. They seemed to be quite worried…”, its voice trailed off.

“’course they… are.” Ava took in another heavy breath, fighting through the darkness creeping at the sides of her vision and blurring her thoughts. “They… ‘lways are. Hell, this time…. They’re even right…”

Ava felt tears forming at the corners of her eyes, running slowly down her cheeks. Suddenly, she felt a pressure at her hand, a cold hand curling around her own. She knew she should be disgusted, a leech holding her hand, but somehow… she just felt comforted, not alone. The next few minutes were spent in silence, Julia sitting quietly beside her as her vision slowly went darker. She felt an occasional squeeze at her hand whenever she took in an especially laboured breath.

“Thank… you for… not leaving…” she whispered, just before her vision faded and her mind was swallowed by the darkness surrounding her.

Julia sat still for some more time, hand curled around the hand of the now dead woman next to her. She felt something running over her cheeks, blurring her vision. Sniffing, she wiped them with her other hand, leaving red marks on it.

“There’s nothing you have to thank me for, really”, she said, voice thick, even though Ava couldn’t hear her anymore.

Still sniffing, she finally removed her hand from Ava’s dead one, removing the clasp at Ava’s belt and using it to fasten the crossbow at her own. It was just then when Julia noticed a piece of paper sticking out of Ava’s jacket. Curious, she took it when her senses suddenly warned her of newcomers. _The reinforcement. I could… I could just stay here. They’d do what Ava didn’t, they’d end this nightmare._ Because that was what her life was now. A never-ending nightmare, consisting of violence, blood and hunger, amplified by the memories of the monsters Julia had drained. _I can’t risk becoming like them. It should end here and now. I’m certainly not worth the lives my continuing existence endangers – ending me would be for the better for everyone. Plus, I wouldn’t have to face the thirst and the violence anymore. I would be at peace._

But then, she’d ignore Ava’s wish. The last wish of a dying woman. _How could you trust me, Ava? How could you trust a monster?_ Glancing at the approaching figures, which were just around the corner, Julia got up. _I don’t know if you put your trust right, Ava. But I promised you to keep fighting. And I stand to this promise. I can’t do that when I’m dead. Or… more dead, that is._ Leaving only a small puff of black smoke behind, Julia jumped on the roofs just before three scouts tailed by a medic rounded the corner. Leaving their horrified voices behind her, Julia headed home. She was only a few streets from her flat, when she noticed that she still held that piece of paper in her hand. _Shit. I didn’t mean to steal it from her. But I also can’t bring it back right now._ She frowned. _I hope it’s nothing important. I’d better have a look at it as soon as I’m home._

* * *

When Julia finally arrived at her flat, she shrugged out of her coat, heading for the bathroom to remove the blood stains. A procedure now all too familiar. _At least I don’t have to patch it up this time._ After taking care of her clothes and outer appearance, interrupted only shortly as Julia freaked a little bit over the realisation that leech tears apparently were made of blood, she settled down in her sleeping room, that damned piece of paper in her hand. As she unfolded it, it revealed a letter, written in a neat handwriting.

> Geoffrey,
> 
> I know of the importance of the great hunt and from everything I’ve read in your letters, the situation is more than worrying. These feral beasts you mentioned, I’ve never heard of something like this, not in this number and strength. But as much as I feel the urge to not only send more of my men, but to come myself to London so we can fight on each other’s sides as in old times, I’m afraid I can’t. There is a new leech roaming this city, and even though we couldn’t find any human victims, it seems it ended already five of its own, claiming a territory of terrifying size. As long as I don’t know more about this, sending more men would be too dangerous. For all we know, it could be an ancient one, possibly having fled London from the hunt. I have, however, sent word to some of Carl’s old contacts, so your boys should get some new toys soon, at least.
> 
> Take care,
> 
> Ava

The English text was followed by a short paragraph in a foreign font Julia needed a moment to recognise. _Irish. Seems like that Geoffrey is an Irish man, too._ Now feeling even worse, since she was the only reason Ava didn’t go to London, Julia stared blankly at the paper. _If she hadn’t thought that there’s a new threat here, she would’ve gone to London. She wouldn’t have died in that street._ Again, tears were forming in her eyes. _It’s my fault. If it wasn’t for me… No._ Julia took in a deep breath. _No. I can’t sit here and let myself be swallowed by guilt for events I couldn’t foresee. She is dead, as are 12 more men. And I am still standing, because she trusted me to continue with her hunt. Sitting here and crying over things I can’t change certainly won’t help to keep my promise._ She folded the letter neatly and laid in on the bedside table. _I think I should try out that crossbow. That spot in the park I’ve discovered should be fine for that._

After getting into her coat again, Julia left her flat and headed to the park. It was late, and the streets were quiet. _I wonder what is going on in London. The newspapers didn’t write much, but then they also don’t write about the epidemic here… Whatever it is, it must be serious_ , Julia pondered. Still lost in thoughts, she arrived at the park and jumped to the hard-accessible spot she had found a few nights ago. She unclasped the crossbow then, examining it. It was formed like a pistol with a crossbow attached to its anterior end. The shaft was concave, leaving space for the bolt. Right now, it was already primed. Taking the weapon in both hands like she would with her gun, Julia aimed for one of the trees standing nearby. With a small thud, the bolt left the weapon and hit right into the target as Julia pulled the trigger, feeling almost no recoil, even though this fact was probably due to her strength. Julia went for the bolt, then, finding it deeply buried inside the tree’s stem. _Now that had some force behind it._ Pulling it out of the wood without breaking it proved quite difficult, even with Julia’s improved strength. After some trying, Julia soon found that the lever at the end of the crossbow could be used to cock the weapon, which was then simply primed by placing a new bolt into it.

Julia spent the rest of the night practicing with her new weapon, finding it to be quite accurate even over longer distances and making almost no sound when shooting, just like Ava had told her. _I’d still rather had it if she was alive. Any human killed by monsters like me is one too much_ , Julia thought when heading home.

**_You should consider going to London_** , the voice woke her at the next evening with the all too familiar sentence.

_Maybe… maybe I really should,_ Julia pondered, cuddling herself a little bit more under her blanket. _It’s not like there’s much holding me here with aunt Susan and uncle Paul being gone. Well, Stephen’s probably going to return soon, but I’m not sure if I want to face him… Also, I doubt living in the same space as a human does would be a good idea and there seems to be quite some trouble with leeches in London, after all. And if it wasn’t for me, Ava would’ve been on her way to help this Geoffrey, whoever that might be._ Julia snorted. _Not that I think he’d want the help of a leech. But still… I mean, I probably could also hunt for the leeches in this city, but then Ava seemed to have thought Geoffrey’s problems to be more dire if it hadn’t been for the ‘new leech’… Also, if I really WOULD go to London, maybe that fecking voice would finally shut up. I really can’t stand it anymore._ After some more minutes spent with weighing her possibilities, Julia got up, deciding to go through her mail and the newspapers before making a final decision.

It turned out that she had quite some mail, none of them good. Most of it were bills, bills that would be increasingly hard to pay since the last letter was a pissed sounding dismissal notice from her boss. _Fuck. Well, it isn’t like I haven’t seen it coming_. Julia had still some savings, even though the medicine for her and her aunt had drained quite some of it. They wouldn’t last long without a job, however. _Well, at least Stephen still sends the money for the flat. And I don’t have to buy any food anymore. Still, this is bad._ The newspapers didn’t give her much of the information she wanted however, since most of the articles were about the war or some local news. _Just as I thought._ Julia spent the next few hours with taking care of the bills and cleaning up the flat, still pondering if she should go to London, following the voice’s order or not. As she assessed the cleaned-up kitchen, she found that she had already decided hours ago. _London it is. Maybe I really find answers there. And since Ava wanted me to take over her hunt, what better place is there to do this than the one she would’ve been if not for me?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Julia's finally on her way to London. Took me only four chapters to get there :'D


	5. London

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little bit filler-ish I'm afraid, but Julia needs to get an idea of the city and the situation, first. The next one will have more action, I promise.

It was some hours after midnight when Julia left the train at Euston Station. _London. Finally._ It had taken her days to get here, as she had to hide from the sun during the days and trains going only during night-time were rare. Also, the increasing unrest in Dublin as well as the ongoing epidemic and the war had worsened things even more. Gripping her suitcase which contained most of her clothes, Julia left the station, looking around to orientate. The conductor had described her a way to a hostel where she could get a room. Apparently, it wasn’t easy to get around the city these days, due to all the quarantine zones and an ongoing gang war. Moving silently through the streets, Julia made her way to the address the conductor had given her, following his directions. It took her almost twenty minutes since she had to get around more than one quarantine fence. As she finally arrived, the place seemed to be shut down, however, all windows being dark and no voices from the inside to be heard. After assuring she was at the right place, Julia knocked strongly at the door.

“Hello? I’m looking for a room – I was told to go here!?”, she exclaimed. There came no answer. Frowning, Julia used her leech senses to have a closer look. She couldn’t make out anybody inside. “Bollox! And now!?”

Giving the door a frustrated kick, which caused it to tremble heavily in its frame, Julia contemplated about her situation. She had been to London several times before, even though far not often enough to really know her way around the city. She guessed she could just have a look around in the streets nearby, but then most lodgings in this part of town were probably more expensive than she wanted to pay for. _If I head to the east, I should get into a less fancy part of town… I think. Maybe I find something there._ She still had some time until sunrise, after all.

Trying not to think too much about what would happen if she got caught in the sunlight, Julia headed east, only to be stopped by another quarantine fence shortly after. _Oh, fuck that shit._ After glancing around if anybody was watching, Julia jumped over the fence. The next few minutes went by quietly as Julia walked down the streets as fast as she could without showing her unnatural speed. Suddenly, the silence was interrupted by gunshots, followed by a loud screeching and indistinguishable shouts. _Gangs? In this fancy part of town?_ Using her shadow veil, Julia drew nearer to the source of the shots, finding three men fighting… something. Something that moved incredulously fast. Its heartbeat soon told her that it wasn’t really belonging to the living anymore. _Shit. I don’t even have weapons equipped. Thought it wouldn’t be wise to have them visible in the train._ As she looked around, she soon was able to make out a balcony low enough to jump on. Keeping the shadow veil, she jumped onto it, heading for the roof afterwards.

Below her, the fight seemed to come to an end as the men circled the beast they were fighting, one of them finally pushing a stake through its heart. With a final screech, the beast dropped to the ground. Panting, the men stood around it, one of them stepping cautiously in its side.

“It’s really dead then? You never know with those fuckin’ beasts!”, he exclaimed in a heavy accent.

One of the others, who held a crossbow loosely in his right hand, took a step closer, kicking the beast’s head. “Huh. I think ‘t’s down for good this time, Joe. Come on, there’s a lot more of them about. We’ll burn it later with the other ones”.

With that, the men left, leaving the corpse lying on the street. After waiting a short time in case the men came back, Julia shadow-jumped back on the street right next to the body. She assessed it curiously. It wasn’t like any of the leeches she’d seen before. Its skin was torn, not by the fight but by seeping wounds which seemed to not have healed over properly as the bandages on its arms and face proved. It also seemed to have weird swellings all over its face, some of them of a quite gruesome colour. _What in god’s name is this? Is it really a leech? Or something else? But its heartbeat was like the one of leeches._

It also smelled like a leech, even though there was something off with it. _Is that one of the ‘feral beasts’ Ava mentioned in that letter?_, Julia wondered. _Well, I’ll probably find out soon. But first, I’ll need a place for the day. I can’t fight properly with that suitcase on hand and I also really need a place to hide from the sun. Nevertheless…_ With a fluid movement Julia sat down the backpack she was carrying. Opening it revealed Ava’s, no, Julia’s, crossbow, its form barely cloaked by Julia’s jacket. After checking its state, she clasped it at the belt of her trousers, alongside with the quiver containing the bolts. The dagger followed shortly after. _Better safe than sorry. Pity I put the gun in the suitcase, I’d rather not rummage about in it on the street, but then I’ll probably won’t need it with that crossbow anyway._ Feeling better now, Julia moved on, using her vampiric senses to keep an eye on her surroundings.

It wasn’t long before she heard a screech, sounding very similar to the one she heard before. Looking around, she soon found its source, the slow blood-flow of two undead just behind the house she was facing. Without hesitation, Julia shadow-jumped onto its roof, using a windowsill as short stop on half way. She placed her suitcase onto the rooftop, drew her crossbow and peeked over the rim of the roof. Below her were two more of the creatures, the slow heartbeat alongside with the bandages and the smell giving them away. One of them had its hands at its head, writhing and shrieking as if in pain. The other one was crouched over a body without heartbeat. _Is that… thing eating that corpse?_ , Julia thought, curling her lips in disgust. _Seems like it. What are these creatures? Ghouls?_ Her thoughts were interrupted, however, as the other creature suddenly stopped its shrieking, now fixing its gaze further down the street. Aghast, Julia realized that somebody was coming down the street. Somebody with a living heart. She had no time to even shout a warning, however, since the creature shadow-jumped directly in front of the person, striking for attack.

“Oh no, you won’t”, Julia grumbled as she brought her hand up, freezing the ghoul on the spot.

It almost made no sound when her crossbow released the bolt, which hit straight home into the creature’s head, the beast falling unceremoniously onto the ground directly afterwards. The person that the beast had attacked cried out in fear and turned on his heels, running panickily down the street. The commotion had drawn the attention of the second beast, however, which went right after him, seemingly not caring from where the bolt came that had killed its companion. Cursing silently, Julia went after it while she fumbled for the next bolt to reload her weapon. Her next shot only hit the left shoulder of the beast, since Julia sacrificed accuracy for speed. She did gain the creature’s attention that way, however, as it let its former target be, now heading for Julia.

Side-stepping, Julia drew on her shadow veil which left the creature slashing furiously at thin air. Julia shadow-jumped further back and took out one more bolt, before she drew on her shadows to chain the ghoul whilst dropping the shadow veil. Taking her time now, Julia reloaded the crossbow and sent the bolt right through the creature’s head. With a last, pained shriek, the beast dropped onto the ground. _Now that WAS effective. I really like that weapon._ Julia yanked the bolts from the creature’s corpse, licking it clean afterwards. While it tasted a lot like the leech blood Julia already had tasted, something was a little bit off with it, like with the smell. _I really wonder what these things are. Another kind of leech? They certainly taste like leech. But then this one ate from a corpse, I couldn’t do that. Also, I’ve never seen a leech acting in the open like this…_ Pondering, she retrieved the last bolt from the other creature, finding it being broken. _Huh. I’ll need to find a way to replace them if I want to use the crossbow permanently. But all these things, these creatures as well as new bolts will have to wait ‘til tomorrow. I really need a lodging, first._ With that, Julia headed back for the roof to fetch her suitcase and went on. 

* * *

The next few hours, Julia spent with searching the streets for an open lodging place. All of them seemed to be closed however, some of them not even having any residents inside. More than once she had to hide from the beasts roaming the streets, or the men hunting them. From their conversations and attire, Julia soon gathered they were Priwen. _So many of them. But then with all that ghouls running about…_ Julia shook her head. _It’s like a warzone. Where in god’s name do all these creatures come from?_ It was just before sunrise, when Julia arrived at a pub that finally seemed still to be opened. It was a large wooden building at the docks, even though Julia had lost orientation hours ago and couldn’t really say where exactly she was. The sign over the bar showed a big, roughly cut turtle with a compass on its back. _The ‘Turquoise Turtle’ – I wonder how they came up with a name like that_. Stepping in, she was greeted by a friendly looking bartender in his mid-forties. On his left arm was a tattoo of a turtle – turquoise of course.

“Well, ‘ello ma’am! Welcome at the Turquoise Turtle. Can I get you a drink?” he asked her with a very evident accent.

Drawing in a sharp breath at the last sentence, Julia answered “… no. I don’t think… that’d be wise. I’m actually looking for a room…”

“A room?”, the man enquired. “Well, I’ve got a free room.”

“How much does it cost?”, Julia asked, trying to ignore that heavenly scent radiating from the man. She hadn’t fed since Manchester, and the thirst was getting stronger. The previous fight alongside with having spent half of the time running or hiding from something as she went here also didn’t help. The price of the room was reasonable, and he even walked her to it, taking her suitcase as he went.

“You’re opened all night?”, Julia asked as they arrived at the quite spacious room.

“Yep. Reckoned people might need a place to rest in these dark times”, the man answered. “Name’s Tom Watts, by the way. I’m the owner”.

“I’m Julia Leigh”.

“Huh. You’re new ‘round ‘ere, Miss Leigh?”

“Aye, just arrived from Dublin. I’ve got some things to sort out over here”. 

“Dublin, ya say? And then you’re lodging ‘ere? This ‘s a dangerous part of town, ma’am. Coppers never come ‘round ‘ere and with these murders going on…” His voice sounded worried.

Smiling faintly at his worry, Julia sat down on the bed. “Don’t worry. I can take care of myself and the northside isn’t that civil, either. I’m used to it. But what’s it about these murders you’re talkin’ about?”, she enquired.

“Every mornin’ for the last weeks, bodies ‘ave been found. Poor sods didn’t die of flu, I tell you. An’ they’re finding more of them every day’”. His face looked troubled. “They say it’s the gangs, but… that doesn’t sit right with me. I’ve heard people armed themselves, drivin’ out the sick from their houses. But then all the bad shit ‘appens out on the foggy streets. You should be safe in ‘ere.”

_Probably these poor sods are killed by the beasts roaming the streets_ , Julia thought as she answered. “Thank you, Mr. Watts. I think I’ll sleep most of the day, ‘t was quite a journey”.

“Allright. I’ll leave you, then. If you need somethin’, just come downstairs an’ ask”. With that, he closed the door behind him, his steps sounding heavy on the stairs shortly after.

Taking in a deep breath, relieved to have finally found a place to stay, Julia closed the window shutters and locked the door, before opening her suitcase. Most of the things inside were clothes, as well as some pieces of papers and personal belongings. But that wasn’t what Julia was after. Fumbling between some blouses, she finally fished out her gun.

“Can’t be careful enough”, she muttered as she loaded it and laid it on the bedside table. Her crossbow went right next to it, before she changed into her night gown. _Next time I won’t run from those beasts_ , she thought, before lying down on the bed and falling into a deep slumber.

She awoke at sunset, her head blessedly quiet. As it had been since her decision to go to London. After enjoying the cosy bed a little bit more, Julia got up some minutes later, washing herself up in the basin placed on one of the cupboards and getting dressed in trouser and blouse, her coat hiding her weapons beneath it. She went downstairs then and made her way to the streets after having a few words with the bartender. The air was heavy with fog, which gave her surroundings a gloomy feeling. _At least the cold doesn’t bother me anymore, even though I still feel it,_ she thought as she was harshly greeted by a worn-out looking woman in a grey coat.

“A new face round ‘ere? Who are you? What do ya want?”, the woman asked bluntly.

Annoyed, Julia narrowed her eyes, gulping as the scent of the woman’s blood hit her. She really didn’t have the patience for this right now, not with the way the hunger was gnawing at her. “And what’s it to you? Mind your own business, will you?”, she hissed.

“Careful girl! ’s Edwina Cox you’re talking to. Watch your tongue or I’ll send my Wet Boot Boys after ya!”, the woman spat, her face twisted in anger.

“Oh, now I’m afraid, really”, Julia answered, her voice pissed. Ms Cox bristled at that, but before she could reply, Julia continued “See, I don’t care ‘bout your ‘Wet Boot Boys’ or whatever. All I want is to go on ‘bout my business, **so mind your tone when speaking with me. I don’t wish to harm you** , so let’s keep it civil, yeah?”.

The woman’s gaze blazed over as she answered, voice aloof. “Yeah… ‘f course. If you’re interested, I even might find use of ya…”

Taken aback, Julia stared at the woman. _Oops. I think I might have overdone it a little bit with the ‘mind your tone’ thing._ “I’m not interested, sorry”, Julia replied.

“Pity”, the woman said, her tone now getting more normal again. “Then stay away, or you might get ‘urt. Or d’ya fancy buying something?”

“Buying?”, Julia replied. “What would one like _you_ sell? Drugs?”

“Nah, I’ve got some little things for… self-defence. If it’s drugs you’re after, I might know someone, though…” Ms Cox answered, her tone lowered.

“I don’t need drugs, thank you very much. But when you say you have somethin’ for self-defence… that wouldn’t happen to be ammunition, would it?”, Julia enquired.

The woman smiled. “Oh, it would. So, what strikes your fancy? I’ve got some assortment ‘ere…”

“Actually”, Julia replied “I’m looking for something quite… particular.” Fumbling beneath her coat, she took one of the crossbow bolts from the quiver and showed it to the woman as she continued. “You wouldn’t happen to have some of these?”

The woman took a closer look at the bolt. “’s that a bolt? For a crossbow?” She narrowed her eyes. “You ain’t with those guards, are ya, madam?”

“What?”, Julia asked, taken aback. “You really think I’d talk with you like that ‘f I was with the g…” Julia’s eyes widened as the realisation hit her, then she smirked. “Oh. You mean the guard of Priwen? I can assure you, I’m certainly not ‘with them’. I highly doubt they’d have… someone like me.” Seeing the reaction of the woman, she continued “ **You don’t seem to be very fond of them. Why’s that?** ”

The woman’s eyes got glassy again as she answered. “Don’t know who they exactly are, but I know they’re recruitin’ heavily. Probably want our territory. Can’t let that happen, but we can’t find out somethin’ ‘bout them… ‘ve got Booth already diggin’ into them but he can’t seem to find somethin’ ‘bout their activities…”

As she heard this, Julia laughed loudly, only sobering when she saw the woman’s irritated face. “Oh, sorry. But that…”, she replied, still grinning “…you really don’t have to worry ‘bout Priwen stealing gang territory – I’d daresay they’ve got plenty of things at their hands without fightin’ the gangs. However… you didn’t answer my initial question – do you have some of these bolts or not?”

The woman still stared at her, her gaze still confused. “Nah, don’t think so. But I can get ya some… for the right price, ‘f course.”

Julia narrowed her eyes. “’s long as it’s reasonable. Otherwise, I’ll find another supplier. Priwen needs lots of those and even if I’d prefer to stay clear from them…” _at least as long as I don’t plan on suicide again_ “…I might consider otherwise, if needed…”

The woman in front of her smirked. “If ya need them more often from me, I might get you a good price, ma’am”

“Well, that sounds good for me. I’ll leave you that one as a sample, then. When do you think you can make me an offer?”

The woman huffed. “Just stop by tomorrow, then I can tell ya more”

“I’ll certainly do that. My name’s Julia Leigh, by the way”. With that, she left in a hurry, whilst pleased about the opportunity that had placed itself so easily into her hands, her thirst had only gotten worse during the conversation.

_I really should’ve had some rats when I searched for a place to sleep yesterday. Starving myself like this is not only stupid but also dangerous for anyone who surrounds me._ Julia grimaced. _But those fucking rats still taste like mud. How I hate this need for blood._ She went for the iron gate below the railway bridge nearby since she had heard ghoul screeches from there last night. She was lucky. As her senses soon told her, the ghouls were still there. _How considerate of them_ , Julia smirked as she pushed the gate open, keeping an eye on the beasts in case they were alarmed by the sound. They weren’t, since they were huddled over some corpses lying on the ground. The red scarfs alongside with the weaponry marked the bodies as belonging to Priwen. _Fecking murderous beasts._ Quietly, Julia removed the crossbow from her belt, cocking the weapon at the nearest beast. _The terrain is relatively open, dodging shouldn’t be a problem as long as I’m careful. The roofs here are too low and unstable to really give me an advantage when jumping on them, so I’d probably be better off using my shadows if I want to confuse them ‘bout my whereabouts without using the shadow veil…_

As she had formulated a rough plan, she set the first bolt loose. The creature didn’t even make a sound as it was hit into the heart and dropped to the ground. _I must admit that my senses are really useful when aiming for the heart,_ Julia thought. The other two ghouls screeched loudly and charged for their attacker – one of them shadow-jumping right in front of Julia and clawing at her face. Julia dodged and jumped to the side, pulling the ledge to cock the crossbow again. The beasts didn’t give her much time, immediately following her. Julia was able to dodge another attack, but she couldn’t fully avoid the second beast as it clawed at her from the side. Cursing, Julia jumped further back, using her shadow veil. That was enough to confuse the ghouls long enough for arming the crossbow with another bolt. One of the beasts seemed to be able to sense her at least somewhat, however, and drew near again. Losing her shadow veil, Julia called for her shadows and jumped back against the wall. There, about three metres above the ground, she felt her shadows gripping her, holding her tightly in place against the wall while she aimed at the beast under her. The bolt hit right into the creature’s head. As Julia felt the shadows releasing her, she jumped behind the last creature. The remaining ghoul leaped at her, stopping dead in his tracks as Julia froze it on its spot. Grinning, Julia went for its neck, sinking her teeth into the creature’s flesh and drinking greedily. She only stopped when the creature was completely drained, licking her lips from the last drop while she savoured the rush the blood brought her.

_Fever. He was burning with fever; his breast and lungs were hurting with every breath he took, the coughs exhausting him and restraining him from sleep. He couldn’t even stand up, everything was so exhausting. His wife gave him medicine, but it didn’t help. Nothing helped, it only got worse, every inch of his body was hurting. The pain he felt seemed to transform into anger, making him unbearable to be around. Finally, he felt his heart stutter, he was dying. But he didn’t, not like he should. He woke up again, and it hurt, it still hurt, now not from the disease but from furious HUNGER. Angrily, he slashed on anything in sight, trying to quench his thirst and to calm the burning hatred within him. But then there was this song, this wonderful song inside his head, guiding him, soothing him. It sang of blood and death and violence and all he wanted was to follow its tune. And that he did. He danced to the song, he danced and drunk and ate like the song told him. There weren’t thoughts anymore, only the hunger and the song, this wonderful, wonderful song._

Crying out in pain, Julia gripped her temples. She could feel the creature’s hunger, could feel her own thirst burning in her throat. She heard a female voice singing in her head, singing a song with such a wonderful tune, but also filled with violence and hatred. It told her to just give in to her hunger, to follow its lead, to sate the thirst. It told from the beauty of blood, the art of violence, the perfection of death.

“No…”, Julia groaned, sinking to the floor, her hands still gripping her temples.

The voice, such a wonderful voice, continued to sing in her head, testing her self-control. And then, suddenly, it was over. Panting, Julia kneeled on the ground. _What the hell WAS this?_ She knew how overwhelming the other leeches’ thirst could be in the first moments of getting their memories, adding in an awful way to her own thirst, but she had never experienced something in that intensity. _What ARE these creatures? Not normal leeches, that’s for sure. And that voice_ , Julia shuddered as she remembered its wonderful sound, _who was that? It’s not the one I usually hear._ Still feeling somewhat shaky, even if it didn’t show in her movements, Julia finally got up, taking her crossbow from the ground as she went. She gathered the two bolts from the creatures then, cleaning them at their ragged clothes since she didn’t dare to taste their blood again. Not at the moment. _Let’s not repeat this. I think I really prefer rats over this, despite their foul taste_ , Julia contemplated. _Hm. I’ll probably be well off as long as I don’t drain them completely, however. No memories then._

She took some time going through the beasts’ pockets, revealing nothing of importance. _So, what do I do now?_ She hadn’t really planned on something, as she had reckoned she’d find out soon enough what to do when arriving in London if the situation really was that dire. _I guess I should try to find out more about these creatures. They ought to have a maker, don’t they? If I find him, or her, maybe I could eradicate this problem at its source. But then that beast didn’t remember any maker, just being sick…_ Julia furrowed her brow. _Maybe that memory is missing. But I really don’t want to share memories with any more of these beasts. Not after what just happened. Maybe… maybe I could try to observe Priwen, again, and if only to find out where most of these beasts are clustering. Last time it worked. Also, I’d like to find this Geoffrey guy. He has a letter to receive, even if I’m not entirely sure how to deliver it without getting shot._ Pleased to have at least the remnant of a plan, Julia moved to the two bodies of the Priwen guards. Both looked quite torn up since the ghouls had already started to feast on them. _Disgusting beasts._ Julia moved them to a more obvious spot, so that they would be found in the next morning.

“Sorry to do that, but I need more information”, she whispered as she went through their pockets, searching for any clue where to find a Priwen outpost. She found none, however, only revealing stuff like cigarettes, money and keys. Leaving that stuff in the corpses’ pockets, Julia finally gave up and left, deciding to spy on some of Priwen’s patrols. _They’ll have to move to their outpost eventually. Plus, putting down more of those beasts on my way certainly won’t hurt._

* * *

She spent the rest of the night with patrolling the streets, taking down thirteen more ghouls, always being careful not to drain them completely if going for their blood. The last pair of them had gotten on her from behind, leaving a quite severe wound at her back and neck. Cursing violently due to the pain it caused her, even though the wounds were already healing over, Julia moved to a balcony over the streets. She was preparing to head back to the Turquoise Turtle, since none of the Priwen patrols she had spotted seemed to be heading back to their outpost soon and dawn wasn’t far, as her vampiric senses caught some voices.

“… think we’ll keep that theatre as an outpost? Or maybe even as headquarters? It’d be much nicer than that stinky warehouse in Whitechapel”, a man with a high voice asked.

“I doubt it. That theatre ‘s much too flashy, ‘specially in that posh district. Might not be a problem with that flu goin’ on an’ all, but for the long term… nah. But ’s a fine place for the interrogation of a certain person, that’s for sure”, another man answered, his voice gloating at the last sentence.

“Huh. Pity. Who’s interrogating that stole bastard, anyway? McCullum?”, the first speaker replied. Julia tensed a little bit on that name, as it rang somewhat familiar. Frowning, she listened for more.

“Nah, I think Sanders is in charge for that. ‘s far ‘s I know McCullum’s at Pembroke, fighting that beast of a doctor”

“The leech doctor? Alone?” the first voice asked, sounding alarmed.

Now Julia could see the two speakers as they rounded the corner. One of them was quite big, both in height and broadness and carrying a shotgun alongside with some makeshift knife-shield combination on his right arm. The other one seemed to be the opposite, small and scrawny, armed with a crossbow. In case they were to look up, Julia drew in her shadow veil. They didn’t seem to notice anything, continuing their conversation.

“Well, ’s McCullum we’re talkin’ about. He’ll handle it. Think he’s got some nasty surprise planned for that leech. He’ll return with some answers and one leech less walkin’ around. Hell, maybe he’s back ‘lready!”, the bulky man said.

They went quiet after that and Julia, who could feel that the sun would be rising very soon now, hurried back to the Turquoise Turtle, pondering on her way. _So, their headquarters are somewhere in Whitechapel. That’s a start, I guess. Also, this McCullum… where do I know that name from?_ Then, she realized. _Caleb’s memories. McCullum is the leader of Priwen! That’s something… I wonder who that ‘doctor’ is – must be a quite formidable foe if the leader of Priwen himself is hunting him…_

Julia arrived at the pub just at sunrise, her skin already feeling unpleasantly warm. Mr Watts was still tending to the bar, despite the late (or early) hour, even though he looked quite tired. Julia headed right for the stairs, but she was stopped by the worried looking man.

“Ms Leigh – you alright? Did you run into trouble on the streets?”

Alarmed by his worried tone, Julia assessed herself. Her coat looked quite ragged, being torn at its side and its back and coated occasionally with suspicious looking stains. Her blouse and trousers didn’t look much better. _Damn. I didn’t give a thought about my looks…_

“Uh… Yes, I had some trouble. You were right, this district ‘s dangerous. I’m not hurt, though. Got away before anything too bad happened…” Still worried, the man gave her a questioning look. “Really, ’s nice of you to worry ‘bout me, but I’m fine”, Julia tried to reassure him.

“… Alright. If you say so. But please, take care ‘f yourself, will you?”, the man finally answered.

“’f course – I think I know now which places to avoid”, Julia smiled back weakly. “I think I’ll head to bed now, though. It was quite some night…”

“Have a good sleep, then”, Mr Watts wished her, even though the troubled look didn’t entirely leave his face.

Moving as fast as she could without looking suspicious, Julia headed for her room, carefully avoiding the windows. _Shit. I really should be more careful. That Mr Watts seems nice enough, but coming back with torn, bloodstained clothes after being the whole night out IS quite suspicious. Even in a district like this…_ Deciding to worry about that tomorrow, Julia cleaned herself up and went to bed after putting her gun onto the bedside table.

At the next night, Julia was wakened by agitated voices downstairs. Throwing her (still torn) coat over her nightdress, she went outside her room, gun hidden in her coat’s pocket, and looked over the handrail to find the source of the noise. Below her, three armed men were arguing agitatedly with the bartender.

“I don’t talk ‘bout my guests, with whomever. You know that. This bar ‘s a neutral place without fights and it’ll stay ‘s such”, Mr Watts explained to the men calmly with a warning undertone.

“We don’t care ‘bout gang fights, Tom. But if you’re consorting with leeches…”, one of the men replied agitatedly.

“Look, I know you’re a decent bloke, Frank, but if you carry on snoopin’ ‘round in my guests’ privacy, ramblin’ ‘bout this nonsense of these fairy tales you’re likin’ so much, I’ll have to throw your lot out. So just shut it here, will ya?”

Looking quite displeased, the men finally left, not without darting a last warning glance at Tom. Furrowing her brow in worry, Julia headed back to her room. _What is Priwen doing here? Are they searching for me? But how would they even know of my existence and that I’m here?_ Mr Watts probably was suspicious about her after their meeting in the morning, though, but according to his reaction he certainly wasn’t the one who had called Priwen. _I’ll ask Mr Watts later about it. Maybe he knows more._ After dressing herself, Julia took some time to patch up her coat. Looking almost presentable again, she headed downstairs towards the bar.

“Evening, Mr Watts. You wouldn’t happen to have some bottled water?” A possibility to remove bloodstains before entering civilized areas certainly wouldn’t hurt.

Mr Watts gave her a strange look. “Bottled water? Can’t say I’m asked often for that. But sure, I’ve got some. How much d’you need?”

“Two bottles should be enough for time being. Thanks”, Julia answered. While the man fished for the bottles, she continued “There was quite a commotion here before – what was that about?”

Coming up behind the bar, Tom placed two bottles onto the desk, taking the money Julia had already put out for him. “Ah, that was nothin’. Just some blokes tryin’ to snoop around. It ‘appens. I tell them that my guests are off-limits and that’s it.”

Julia frowned. “So, this happens commonly?”

“Nah, wouldn’t say that. But sometimes people think they’re ‘specially cunnin’, asking around in bars an’ such. Don’t you worry, though, I don’t talk ‘bout my customers”.

“Huh”. Contemplating about what she had just heard, Julia took the water and stuffed it into her coat. “Thanks for the water, anyway. I’ve got someone to meet in Whitechapel, but I’m not entirely sure if I find that district from here – could you give me directions?”

“Sure. Even know where to find most of the streets there – you need directions for that, too?”, the man enquired.

“No, I’ve got a description for that ‘s soon as I’m there”. Tom gave her quite detailed instructions, even told her which streets to best avoid on her way. “Thanks a lot, Mr Watts. I’ll leave for now, don’t know exactly when I’ll be back. I’ll keep that room for now, however”, Julia smiled in response.

“Fine with me”, Mr Watts answered, “You know now how long you plannin’ to stay?”

“Not exactly, but probably for the next few days”, Julia replied, before heading for the door, ignoring the suspicious glances from the barmaid. Outside, she was greeted by another cold, gloomy night. Not far from the pub’s entrance, she saw Ms Cox, deep in discussion with a worn-out looking man. Julia waited for them to finish their discussion (something about needing more guns and being low on new recruits, if Julia gathered it correctly), before approaching the woman. “Good evening, Ms Cox. Do you happen to have some offer for me this night?”

Startled, the woman whirled around. “Don’t sneak up to me like that again, will ya?”, she huffed with a spiked heartrate, as Julia noticed. “Wouldn’t want to hurt ya ‘cause you startled me. An’ yeah, I‘ve got somethin’ for ya”. Fumbling in one of the crates she was standing next to, she extracted a small box. Opening it revealed several crossbow bolts.

“That was fast!”, Julia exclaimed, impressed.

“I’m a businesswoman, Ms Leigh. ‘f course I can get merchandise fast”, the other woman huffed.

_Businesswoman… sure. Probably these bolts are stolen or something. But then beggars can’t be choosers._

“’f course you do. So, how much for them?” The price was outrageous. Julia was able to haggle it down to a much more adequate sum, though.

“So, when d’ya think you’ll need some more?”, Ms Cox asked when the deal was done.

“Huh. Don’t know exactly, depends how the next nights turn out. Maybe, let’s say in three or four days? Might also be a week, though”, Julia answered.

“I’ll have some for ya, then. Ya know where to find me”. With that, Julia left.

_These arrangements are fine for now, but if I keep it up I’ll really need a way to make some money. Besides looting beast corpses, that is. Also, I’ll either need a way to enter that bar without drawing suspicion after a fight or I’ll need a new lodging place soon. Mr Watts is a nice enough bloke and also discreet, but I’d really rather not draw any suspicions on me…_ So, Julia spent the next few minutes with scouting the surroundings of the bar. _If I go over the pier, I should be able to jump on that balcony, and from there on I should be able to get on my room’s balcony – I’ll need to at least open the window slightly in order to get in, though…_ Mentally cursing, Julia went back into the pub she just left and headed back to her room. After opening the window just wide enough to be able to push it open from the outside, Julia left again, this time for good, heading to Whitechapel.


	6. Idle Conversation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since it's weekend and I had enough time to work on this in the morning already, I'll probably do an additional update in the evening (well, evening for me) :)

Drawing on her vampiric senses, Julia assessed her surroundings. She was standing on a roof, looking down on several small streets crossing in front of her. To her right, she could make out the alluring glow of the blood of some Priwen guards, which were probably heading out from their headquarters. The headquarters, which where impossible for Julia to observe without being spotted within the first few minutes, shadow veil or not. Having fled the gunfire of Priwen guards more than once, Julia finally gave up, deciding to continue her search for clues by hunting the beasts themselves. That had been quite successful – the hunting, not the clue search – as the streets were literally crawling with beasts. By now, having spent almost an entire week in London, putting down ghouls was almost routine for Julia. A routine she actually had started to… like, as gruesome as it was. It did drain her savings, however, as some of her bolts broke every night and she already had to buy new ones twice.

Despite having put more beasts down than she cared to count, Julia hadn’t gotten any closer to find out where they originated, however. They just seemed to be there, new beasts coming out every night from god knew where. _Maybe I could try to follow them to their hideouts, again. But that didn’t work the last two times, so it’s probably just a waste of time, anyway._ The young woman frowned. She had accessed another’s ghoul memory as she had drained one of them completely on accident two nights before. It had revealed nothing new, however, only sickness followed by death and reawakening together with that voice singing its terrible, yet beautiful song. _At least I got rid of the voice faster, this time. But then I was probably just lucky…_ Glancing around for any leech or ghoul activity, she went for the next roof, as a slow heartbeat that indicated an undead made her stop _._

Following the slow blood flow, Julia headed over several roofs, jumping over the small alleys below her. Her target turned out to be no ghoul, however, but a leech. A leech deep in conversation with a human. _Damn. It’s probably hunting, and that bloody idiot stands in my line of fire._ A short glance around showed that the roofs suitable for a clean shot were too far away for her to get there in a reasonable time. _I’ll need to distract the leech long enough for the human to run away._ She silently jumped on the street, loading her crossbow with a new bolt.

“Oi, leech! I want a word with you!”, Julia exclaimed.

Surprised, the leech glanced up, assessing her with a hard look. Using her unnatural speed, Julia moved in front of the creature, right next to the human.

Looking into the human’s eyes, a young man with short, brown hair, she ordered “ **Leave. Now** ”. His eyes widened, and he almost tripped when leaving in a hurry.

The leech gave her an angry glare. “Who are you? And what do you want, ekon? You’re interfering with Ascalon business!”, it demanded.

Turning towards him, Julia locked her eyes with his slightly bloodshot ones. “I don’t care ‘bout leech business. And, to answer your question, I’m merely a monster killing other monsters before they can hurt any more humans”, she snarled.

With that, Julia vanished in front of his eyes, moving behind him and releasing the bolt. The leech managed to dodge, however, the bolt only hitting its shoulder instead of the heart.

“You dare to break Ascalon’s law? I’ll have your head for that!”, it snarled, drawing a sabre.

“Yeah, yeah, ‘f course, do that”, Julia muttered as she raised her hand, freezing her opponent.

He broke her control over him just as she shot her second bolt, however, this time hitting his other shoulder. Hissing in pain, the vampire attacked, swinging his sword furiously. Julia retreated hastily, reloading her crossbow as she went. Julia’s next attack was blocked by a blood shield, whilst Julia was hit from behind by a shadow figure called by the leech. _Jesus, how I hate these things!_ , she thought as she dodged the next attack. The next few seconds went by in a blur as Julia dodged the leech’s attacks, waiting for the blood shield to subside and taking down the shadow figure with a fourth bolt. Then, finally, Julia saw her opponent’s shield dropping and before the leech could do anything else, she called for her shadows, chaining the creature. With a furious snarl, she sprang towards him, biting hard into the vampire’s neck. Growling as the wave of euphoria hit her, Julia drank until nothing was left. It wasn’t enough to get her any memories, but Julia wasn’t so unhappy about that. As useful as the memories could be, they were also quite haunting.

Julia had just gathered her bolts, licking the last one she retrieved from the leech’s shoulder clean, as a noise behind her made her halt. Glancing around, she spotted a ghoul which stood in the alley behind her. Julia grinned and armed her crossbow.

“Ah, dessert”, she said, baring her fangs.

In contrast to her expectations, the ghoul didn’t attack, however, but ran away. Cursing, Julia went after it, not without keeping an eye on her surroundings in case of being led into a trap. The beast was a fast one however, the hastily shot bolt in his thigh only slowing it down marginally. Julia almost lost it as it dived into some tunnel leading into the sewers. Some minutes later, she really lost it, as it vanished in some especially confusing tunnels. What Julia didn’t lose, however, was the blood trail the ghoul’s hurt thigh left. Smirking, she followed the trail, now more cautious. A cautiousness Julia was only too happy about as she rounded a corner and her senses suddenly not only showed her one undead, but at least ten of them, gathered behind the tunnel’s wall. Drawing on her shadow veil, Julia moved carefully nearer, stopping as she heard a calm, and somewhat sad voice echoing through the tunnel.

“Go. Go back to the streets and houses. This is our domain, and you have been warned, now.”

Julia narrowed her eyes as a female ghoul clad in upscale, even though ragged garments entered the tunnel. Other than the ghouls Julia had fought before, it seemed to have maintained at least some of its wits, its speech and behaviour being surprisingly… civil. Cocking her crossbow at the ghoul’s head, Julia dropped her shadow veil.

“And why exactly would I do this, beast, instead of impaling your head right here and now?”, she snarled, her gaze never leaving the ghoul, wary for sudden movements.

The creature in front of her tilted its head, assessing her cautiously. “The sewer skals are not defenceless, despite what your kind might think, ekon”, it answered, its tone calm despite the blatant threat.

Behind the ghoul, Julia could see the undead figures moving, some of them seemingly fleeing whilst others forming a loose half-circle, probably preparing for a fight. _This is bad. I’m not sure if I can hold up against so many of them at once, especially in these narrow tunnels and without the advantage of surprise on my side._ Deciding to bide for more time, Julia continued the conversation.

“I don’t care what other leeches think, ghoul, but I think that every murderous beast roaming the streets ‘s one too much. I still don’t really see why I shouldn’t end you here and now. Might be that you ‘sewer skals’ or whatever fancy names you beasts give yourself are up for a fight, but so am I”, she growled.

The ghoul’s eyes widened somewhat at that, before it responded in defiant tone. “And what makes you think that one of your kind is any less a ‘murderous beast’ than one of ours, young ekon? Especially since your kind must feed from the living, whilst we can sustain ourselves from the dead?”

Julia snorted, her lips curled in disgust. “Your kind might be able to feed from the dead, beast, but you don’t do so. I’ve seen them runnin’ about in the streets and killing people. Makes you even more disgusting, if you ask me, being able to sustain yourself from the dead but killing off the living. But to answer your question, I don’t think that ‘my kind’, ‘s you call it, is even marginally better. I’ve seen their thoughts as I ended them, and whilst you just can’t help it, they don’t even want to.” The figures behind the ghoul seemed to be in position, now, not moving anymore. _Either they’re waiting for some signal or… they don’t want to attack. But why? This doesn’t fit to the previous behaviour I’ve observed._ The ghoul in front of her also didn’t seem to have the intention to attack, its posture being tense, but not aggressive.

“So, you are not pursuing us because you think us as lesser, but as murderers?”, the beast asked, sounding… curious.

Julia smirked humourlessly. “Aye, I guess that’s the point. You’ve got something to say ‘bout that, beast, or should we just carry on with that murderous dance we undead seem to like so much?” _I’m really not sure if I can handle them. Maybe I can distract her, though, and flee, using my shadows and the shadow veil. Come back later, when they’re not expecting me._

“I have, indeed, young ekon. I know that the situation on the streets is dire and even if you may not think so, many of our community have fallen victim to this terrible menace. I can assure you, however, that we are neither the murderers, nor the mindless beasts you seem to think we are”, the ghoul answered in a sad tone.

“Yeah, sure, you’re ‘s innocent as a lamb. Go and tell your wild stories to somebody more naïve, ghoul”, Julia spat.

The creature assessed Julia with another curious, almost compassionate glance. A few tense seconds ticked by as they stood there and stared at each other, none of them moving. Then the ghoul started speaking again. “I do not know what bad fate was bestowed on you, young ekon, but I can sense you are in deep pain. I see you are not ready to listen to me, but I might be able to offer you a proposal”, it finally said.

“A proposal?”, Julia huffed, “For what? Havin’ a cut on the poor sods you’re murdering on the streets? I don’t think so”.

The ghoul frowned, displeased. “As I told you, we are not the murderous beasts you think we are. The sewer skals hardly ever leave these tunnels and when we do, we do not prey on the living. And no, my proposal is of an entirely different nature”.

“The one I followed here _did_ leave the tunnels, did it not? You’re fallin’ to your own lies, beast”, Julia spat, waving her hand. “But, carry on. I’m curious what you think you can offer me”.

Sighing, the ghoul went on. “As far as I gathered from our conversation, your encounters with other vampires weren’t… pleasant. Am I right?”.

Julia frowned. “No, they weren’t. But what’s it to you?”

“To me? Oh, it is not of importance to me. But I think you are lacking information, young ekon, and are in dire need of guidance. I do not know why your maker has not provided you with it, but I think I might know somebody who could be able to help you. And no”, it carried on, raising its hand, “before you say anything, I am not doing this without ulterior motive. We sewer skals may be more than able to defend ourselves, but we have just lost most members of our community to that terrible creature Harriet Jones had become and I would rather not have another fight, especially not based on a mere misunderstanding. And if I interpreted these glances you gave your surroundings correctly, you are also not entirely sure if you are able to win this fight, am I correct?”

 _Damn. That ghoul definitely hasn’t lost its wits. Could be quite an opponent._ “Huh. Maybe”, Julia answered, trying to hide her worry. “So, who’s that ‘somebody’ that may be able to help me then? Another ghoul?”

The creature sighed, again. “No, he is no ‘ghoul’, as you prefer to express it, even though I’d rather have it if you could call us skals, as this is what we are. He is an ekon, like you, and his name is Dr Reid. Even if he is not as wise as his mate, he has good intentions and some insight. I think meeting with him would benefit you”.

“A leech with good intentions?”, Julia sneered “I don’t think that exists”.

The ghoul smiled slightly. “And what are you, then, young ekon? But that aside, what do you think? I could arrange a meeting and in return, you promise to hear him out before you take any actions against him or us”.

_She’s biding time. They’ll probably vanish into this maze of tunnels as soon as I’m gone. But then she’s right, I DO not know if I’m able to win this fight. Also, the thought of a decent leech… But no, I should be done with hoping for something like that._

“I’m merely fulfilling a promise I gave, skal, but that doesn’t matter. I don’t really see what this meeting you’re suggesting should bring, but then, why not?” Julia narrowed her eyes. “If this turns out to be a trap, however, I _will_ hunt you down, regardless where in these tunnels you hide”.

The ghoul nodded. “I understand. I will contact Dr Reid, then, as soon as he returns to London. It should not be long, I hope. How can I contact you if he accepts to meet you? I do not mean to offend you, but I would prefer it if you would not come down here anymore”.

 _Dr Reid? A leech doctor?_ , Julia wondered as she suddenly remembered the conversation she overheard from the Priwen guards a week before. _Wait, does she mean THAT doctor? So, he isn’t dead? Did he win against McCullum or was he just able to flee?_ Pondering a moment more about the possibilities she had at hand, Julia finally answered.

“Do you know that crypt in the west of that cemetery in Whitechapel? Stonebridge cemetery?” The ghoul nodded. “There’s a grave in the left room right after you go in, belonging to a Sorley Kent. I’ll put a box next to it, just drop a note in there and I’ll put an answer in it within a night”. Smirking, Julia added “Cemeteries are fitting surroundings for leeches, ‘fter all. And even more so for ghouls”.

The creature didn’t seem to share her humour, its expression annoyed as it answered. “I will do so. And now I would ask you to leave, this is sewer skal territory after all, and your kind does not belong here”. Julia nodded hesitantly and left, leaving her senses alert and fixed on the ghoul as she went.

It took some time to get to the surface again, as Julia was forced to trace back the blood trail on her way out in order to not get lost in the maze of tunnels. It gave her some time to think about the encounter she just had, however. _I wonder why this beast was so different from the other ones I’ve encountered on the streets. Was it just lucky, or is it, I dunno, another strain? Do they have another maker, maybe?_ Even though she didn’t trust one word that came from that creature’s mouth, Julia had to admit that she was curious about that leech doctor. _If I remember correctly, this Priwen guard mentioned McCullum fighting a ‘leech doctor’ at Pembroke hospital._ She knew the place as she had passed by on several occasions when heading from the Turquoise Turtle to Whitechapel and back. _I could go there and try to find something out ‘bout this doctor. I don’t know yet if I’ll really go to that meeting if that ghoul wasn’t entirely shitting me and sets it up for real but getting some more information ‘bout a leech that was hunted by the leader of Priwen himself and managed to survive certainly won’t hurt._ Having decided, Julia headed to the hospital after leaving the sewers, taking out seven feral ghouls on her way.

* * *

About half an hour later, Julia stood in front of Pembroke hospital, eyeing her surroundings, her senses on high alert. She couldn’t make out any undead activity, however, sensing only humans. _So many sick – has the epidemic gotten even worse?_ Withdrawing her senses since Julia felt her hunger stirring, awakened by all the blood surrounding her, she assessed the building. _Heading in through the front door probably wouldn’t be wise. I don’t really have an official reason to be here and I’d also rather avoid any bleeding patients. If that leech really is a doctor, I might be better off searching the offices, anyway, and I highly doubt they will let me just stroll in there. No, I need a back entrance or, even better, an open window in the first storey or something._ Scouting the building soon revealed an ajar balcony door right at the bridge leading to Whitechapel district. _My, my, I AM lucky. That scaffold in front of it even doesn’t have a railing, like it’s made for an easy access._ After a short assessment of her surroundings, making sure that she was alone and nothing was waiting for her in the room behind the balcony door, Julia shadow jumped onto the balcony.

The open door led into a spacious room, containing several bookcases and cabinets, alongside with a bed as well as operating tables and laboratory benches. The place didn’t seem to be in use for operating patients, however, since one of the operating tables was fully covered with a hotchpotch of notes. _Seems like the office of one of the doctors, even though it’s quite spacious. And with a bed – does he live here? Who lives in a hospital? But then it probably kind of makes sense with that epidemic and all…_ Sensing nobody behind the office’s door, Julia went to it, probing the doorknob. _Locked. Darn. That would have been too easy. Maybe there’s a key inside here…_ Julia snorted. _Yeah, Julia, that’s likely. Everybody leaves his key in the very room he’s locking up. Nevertheless, maybe I’m lucky and he’s got a spare key somewhere._

First, Julia went for the drawer of the bedside table, sparing the skeleton standing next to it only a short glance. Opening the drawer did not reveal any keys like she had hoped, however, but a gun alongside with a knife. _What kind of doctor keeps weapons in his nightstand?_ , Julia thought, before she started to search one of the cupboards. She hadn’t searched for long, however, as a word on one of the notes sprawled over the cupboard caught her eye. _Ekon_. Excited, Julia stopped her search, giving the text a closer look. It seemed to be about the properties of ekon blood and the differences to human blood, even though Julia didn’t understand most of it since the author seemed to be enjoying the excessive use of scientific terms Julia didn’t know. _Could it be… But I can’t be THAT lucky._ Once more, Julia glanced around the room. She hadn’t payed attention to it before but as she did now, she noticed that all windows were boarded up, making any incidence of light impossible. _It seems that I AM that lucky. I directly went into the leech’s lair! Well, I guess now that opened door with the balcony makes sense. Must be a shortcut._ Smirking, Julia began going through the notes, hoping that the room’s inhabitant would stay away for time being.

Many of the notes were gibberish to Julia, using terms and describing processes she had never heard of. After over an hour trying to wrap her head around it (and feeling increasingly stupid since she didn’t understand at least two thirds of it), she was able to make some sense of them, however. _Apparently, that leech doctor tries to find the cause of these frenzied ghouls. Seems like it’s not their normal state…_ Feeling intrigued, Julia searched for more notes, hopefully ones she’d understand better, as a noise at the office’s door made her stop. Glancing around, her senses revealed a crouched form behind the door, fumbling the lock, the strong heart beat giving away a human. _Shit. I really should’ve payed more attention to my surroundings._ Panickily, Julia glanced around, assessing the mess she had made when going through the notes. As fast as she could, she reordered them roughly to make them at least look something like before. Just as she was done the door opened, however. Glancing behind her, Julia’s gaze met with the brown-haired man’s standing inside the door, his blue eyes widening in surprise as he saw her. Unlike Julia had expected, he didn’t seem to be a doctor, though, since his tall form was clad in a dark, ragged coat instead of the white coats doctors usually wore. Under his coat she could make out a half-hidden sword and the incoming air didn’t only bring the enticing smell of his blood with it, but also the weak smell of a leech. _A hunter?_ Julia’s gaze darted to the makeshift crossbow that was attached to the man’s left wrist as the man seemed to recover from his initial surprise.

He raised his arm, the crossbow now aiming at her. “Another leech!?”, he snarled, grimacing. “This hospital is really crawling with them!”.

Julia managed to dodge the bolt he released, jumping towards the balcony door, as a thought stopped her. _That man recognised me as a leech just by looking at me. His presence can’t be a mere coincidence and since this is the leech doctor’s lair, he’s probably here for him. He might know something!_ Turning around revealed the man already being in the process of reloading his crossbow, his gaze never leaving her. _Gosh, he’s fast!_ _But not fast enough._ Raising her hand, Julia froze him on the spot. She didn’t manage to hold him there for long, however, but long enough for her to jump to him and snatch the bolts from his quiver before retreating again. Dropping the bolts on the floor, she aimed her own crossbow at the man’s head just as he started to move again.

“I wouldn’t move any further, if I was you. I do not wish to harm you, but I will, if you force my hand”, she warned him.

Narrowing his eyes, the man slowly lowered his weapon. “You expect me to just roll over and accept my fate, leech? Won’t happen!”, he growled with the lilt of an Irish man, his body tense, ready to dodge.

“No”, Julia replied, her voice steady. “I don’t. And I can understand if you don’t trust a single word comin’ from a leech’s mouth, but I am sincere when I say that I don’t intend to harm you. I could’ve, when I froze you. Or I could now, you’d never be able to entirely dodge that bolt. Even leeches can’t. Maybe that convinces you at least somewhat”.

The man frowned, his pale face still more than wary. “So, what, you want to have idle conversation, beast?”, he spat.

Julia smirked at that. “Kind of. Being where we are, I’d guess that it’s not me you’re after but that leech doctor – I think its name was Reid?”, she replied. The man didn’t respond, his frown deepening. “See, I don’t like this situation any more than you do, so let’s get over with this”, Julia continued, her gaze never leaving the man, wary for any hostile movement.

“I was told that this leech doctor might be able to… help me with some things. I do not trust the source of information, however, so I came here to do a little research on my own. And since you know of the leech’s lair, you might have some of the information I seek”. The man scowled at that, but made no further move, studying her with wary eyes.

“So, what is it you want to know, then, leech?”, he finally answered, his voice gruff.

Pleased about his willingness to cooperate at least somewhat, Julia smiled slightly, not lowering her weapon. “I was told that this leech doctor has ‘good intentions’”, she went on, making air quotes. “Also, he seems to know something ‘bout what’s going on with those ghouls roaming the streets. Do you know if any of this is true?”

First, the man only glared at her, but when she didn’t lower her weapon or made any other move, waiting patiently for his answer, he finally responded, his tone hostile. “There is no such thing as a leech with ‘good intentions’, beast. I have to admit, though, that Reid seems to be… exceptional. He seems to be on Priwen’s side when it comes to the skal epidemic”.

Julia’s brow furrowed in thought at that. “So, he’s fighting it? Searching for a cure, even?” The man nodded, his expression extremely pissed off. “And you’re with Priwen?”, Julia moved further on. “Is it true that your leader ambushed that leech doctor here? How did the beast get away? Is it that strong, or was it just lucky?”

Her opposite gasped at that, his eyes going wide. “You… Why do you think I’m going to answer that, leech?”, he snarled furiously after gathering himself.

“Maybe ‘cause I’m pointing a weapon at you, good sir”, Julia responded in a mocking tone. “But I didn’t mean to offend you – I’m sorry. He… he didn’t kill your leader, did he?”, she asked apologizingly.

The man huffed at that. “No, he didn’t, obviously. But that beast is strong, that’s for sure”. His eyes narrowed. “One more reason he should be put down”.

Julia pondered at that. _Hm. Even if this doesn’t really prove anything, this Dr Reid might be at least not such a vile beast as the leeches of Dublin were, fighting the chaos here and such. Maybe I really could give that meeting a shot. And if only to find out more about these ghouls, or skals, or whatever. I’ll have to be careful, though. An open fight with such a strong leech is a bad idea._ Still aiming at the man in front of her, Julia decided to end the conversation here. “Well, I think that’s all. I thank you for your forthcoming and wish you good luck with your ventures”.

She was already slowly moving backwards to the balcony door as the man stopped her. “Wait, leech. I’ve also got a question to ask”, he demanded with stern voice.

Julia’s brows went up in surprise as she answered. “’s that so? And I’d have thought you wanted to be over with this as fast as possible. But I guess it’s only fair. Go ahead, then”.

The man gave her a hard, assessing glare as he went on, his expression unreadable. “This crossbow you have got there, where did you get it?”

“The… crossbow?”, Julia responded, taken aback. “It was… a gift, kind of”.

The man scowled. “A gift?!”, he spat, his face suddenly furious. “I should’ve known! You’ve killed her!”, he exclaimed, distraught, drawing the sword hanging at his side and heading furiously towards Julia.

Cursing, Julia called her shadows to aid her, chaining her opponent just before he had made his way to her. “You… you knew Ava?”, she asked, surprised.

The man struggled against his binds, his face distorted from hate. “You’re seriously asking if I knew her, beast?”, he spat, his voice filled with hatred and hurt. “Of course I did! And I wouldn’t have to talk about her in the past tense, if you hadn’t murdered her! I’ll have your head, you fecking monster!”.

Julia’s eyes widened at that, and despite the shadow chains more and more drawing on her energy reserves, she decided to continue with the conversation. “I didn’t kill her!”, she exclaimed defensively. “I know, you don’t have any reason to believe a soulless creature like me, but I was not Ava’s killer”.

The man only glared at her, still fighting the shadows. “I was there when she… died, however”, Julia went on, her voice saddening. “She… she went against a leech called Sion Lucas, together with a squad of twelve men. I don’t know exactly what happened, but somehow that beast managed to take them out. She was the last one alive ‘s I got there, the leech playing with her. I put him down, but…” Julia swallowed. The man had gone still now, his gaze disbelieving, but he was obviously listening. “… ‘t was too late for her. I managed to bandage the wound at her neck, but the leech… it had torn her kidney.” Julia’s voice went thick. “There was nothing I could do, it was poisoning her”.

“And when, exactly, was the point you’ve decided to steal from her?”, the man snarled, his gaze still hateful.

Julia shook her head. “I didn’t. I… we talked as I bandaged her. I… I asked her, if she knew of any… leeches with good intentions. She gave me the same answer ‘s you did, so…” Julia glanced up, locking her eyes with his. “… so, I asked her to end me. Before I hurt any humans. But she… she refused. I’m still not sure if I understand why. And she… she made me promise… somethin’. In exchange, she gave me her crossbow, said I might find it useful, more accurate than my gun”.

The man frowned and began to struggle again, his face a hateful grimace. “I don’t believe one word you’re saying, monster.”, he drawled, glaring at her. “And if you really want to be ended that badly, I think I’ll be happy to oblige!”

“I understand”, Julia said, nodding sadly. “And I wouldn’t believe myself, either, if roles were reversed. And no, I don’t want to be put down, not yet. I’ve got a promise to keep, ‘fter all. I do ask one thing of you, though”, she went on hastily, since she felt her last reserves waning from the effort to keep the man chained. “I’ve found a letter on her body. It wasn’t my intention to take it from her, but the reinforcement was coming and… well, it happened. Its content’s the reason I went to London, in fact. I really don’t feel like I should keep it, though, I think it should go to its intended recipient… It’s addressed to a Geoffrey, and since you knew Ava you might know him, too… I think he’s with Priwen. I know I don’t have the right to ask anything of you, but could you please make sure he gets it?”, Julia asked in a pleading tone.

She took Ava’s letter out of her coat’s pocket and placed it onto the low dresser just beside the door. Then, she left, feeling her shadows releasing their victim as her last reserves were drained. When she reached the bridge, a crossbow bolt hit the street right behind her. _He really IS fast_ , she thought, before heading further on, leaving the angry man behind her.

Julia sated her thirst with some rats on her way back to the docks – going against the feral beasts with completely drained blood reserves was a mistake she’d only made once. Whilst being on her way, she pondered on the things just transpired. _That was an interesting conversation, to put it carefully. Shit, I really hope he dismisses the idea that I’m Ava’s killer… no, he probably won’t. I wouldn’t._ Aghast, Julia stopped in her tracks. _Wait… Priwen knows my face now! And, bloody idiot as I am, I’ve told him that I’m not from here, so if he’s got any wits, he WILL check the lodging places nearby – especially if he really thinks I’m the one responsible for Ava’s death. Fuck. This is bad. There were already Priwen guards asking around at the Turtle and Mr Watts’ reaction probably made them only suspicious. I must get my things from there and search for another hideout. Now._

Furrowing her brow in thought, Julia began to move hurriedly towards the Turquoise Turtle. _But where to go? Most lodging places are shut down, especially at this hour of night – also, if they check the Turtle, they’ll check the other places, too. I could go for some of the abandoned houses, though…_ Julia had found several of them during her nightly hunts and had already used them twice as a place to stay during the day when she hadn’t made it back to the Turquoise Turtle in time. _I don’t like it, but then I don’t see a good alternative for now. Hell, sometimes I think coming here was a mistake. Back in Dublin I had at least a flat. And I knew the streets there much better._ She sighed. _But then I can always go back, and I’d really like to know where these beasts are coming from. Eradicate them, if possible. The flat won’t run away, as long as Stephen pays the rent. Might not last that long, though, since he’ll hopefully come back home soon with the war ending and all. _

She had left a letter to her cousin Stephen in the flat, explaining that she had to leave and didn’t know when she’d be back, but since the two of them weren’t on best terms, Julia sincerely didn’t know how he would react. _I don’t know if I should try to reconnect with him, being the last family member I have and all, or if I’d better stay away. Not endanger him. But then I really should be worrying about other things right now. Like where to stay. Maybe I could try that house at the cemetery, for now, as I’ll need to go there for putting up that box, anyway. And tomorrow, I’ll move to another house._ Having decided, Julia went to the pier behind the pub, going into her room over the balcony first in order to make herself presentable before interacting with people.

Her room seemed to be untouched, much to Julia’s relief _. Calm down, Julia. You should have more than enough time to leave properly, no need to panic._ After cleaning and patching up her coat (again…), Julia began to pack her belongings back into her suitcase. _I might even miss the room here. It wasn’t the Ritz, but it was proper enough, ‘specially for the docks. And Tom’s really a nice bloke, even though I think his girl is a little bit afraid of me…_ Sighing, Julia straitened herself up, leaving the room through the window as Tom had her seen leaving before and coming down from her room without moving up before would arise suspicion.

She found the man tending to the bar, as usually. She didn’t see many guests, only a man with dark expression brooding over an ale in one corner and the usual drunk, a Mr Delaney, hanging over the bar. Paying no attention to them, Julia went for straight for Mr Watts, who put the glass he was just polishing aside as he spotted her.

“Already back, Ms Leigh? That’s earlier than usually – I hope you didn’t run into trouble again?”, he asked in a concerned tone.

Julia smiled at that. “Nah, I wouldn’t call it trouble,  Mr Watts. But thanks for your concern, I appreciate it. No, I had a quite interestin’ conversation before, and it seems that I’ll be leaving earlier than I thought”.

Mr Watt’s raised his eyebrows. “Oh? When?”, he asked.

Julia blushed a little as she went on “Well… actually… now. I’m really sorry that it’s so suddenly and I know I booked the room for the entire next week…”

“Ah, don’t you worry, ma’am. ’s no problem”, Mr Watts interrupted her in a soothing tone. “You’ve payed in advance, though, so I’ll give you back the money for the next few days.”

Julia’s expression lightened up, positively surprised. “Thank you, Mr Watts.” Taking the money he handed her over, she continued “If anybody asks ‘bout me, or somebody looking like me, just tell them I’ve left. I know that you don’t talk about your customers an’ all, but you don’t have to get into trouble for me. It won’t hurt if anyone knows that I stayed here”. The man frowned at that, his gaze suspicious and worried at the same time. _Yeah, like I thought. But I really don’t want him to get hurt cause Priwen’s hunting me._

“’ll right, Miss Leigh…”, Mr Watts finally answered, “… but if you’re findin’ yourself in trouble, you should know that this bar is a neutral place”.

Julia smiled reassuringly “I know, Mr Watts. And I wouldn’t bring any trouble here. I think I’ll have to leave now. Maybe I’ll step occasionally by, though”. The man nodded in agreement, waving his hand at her as she went for the stairs, gathering her already packed suitcase and backpack. _Well, that went like I’ve expected. At least one thing did this night_ , Julia thought as she got on the street again.

The way to the cemetery was quiet since Julia avoided the streets and went there mostly by the sideways next to the canal, not wanting to fight with her luggage at hand. She found the abandoned house empty, its rooms smelling stale and the blood stains on the floor adding a sickening touch to it since they were quite old. _Lovely. I’m already taking a shine to it. But then, it’s only for one night._ Julia sighed. _Yeah, and the next houses will probably be so much better._ After hiding her luggage in a closet behind some ragged looking clothes, Julia went outside again, carrying the small box Edwina had sold her the crossbow bolts in. The walk to the crypt was a short one, even though it was interrupted by a short fight with three ghouls. Feeling lively from the fight and the blood, Julia went down the stairs, heading for the door. There was no one around and putting the box into the corner next to the grave was quickly done. Deciding to spend the rest of the night by cleaning the graveyard from ghouls, Julia went out again. She spent the time until dawn with hunting, occasionally hiding from Priwen patrols, and went back into the abandoned building just before sunrise. After closing the window shutters and the door, Julia went to the bed in full clothes, crossbow and gun lying beside her on the nightstand.

* * *

The next night Julia spent with hunting about more information about the nefarious doctor by asking around in Whitechapel since she preferred to avoid the docks for the time being. Some of the people she talked to did actually know the man, telling her that he started to show up some weeks ago, providing the district with free medicine. To her surprise none of the asked persons could tell her about anyone missing or other strange happenings around the doctor during this period of time. Thinking about the things she had discovered, Julia went back to the cemetery not too long before dawn to check on the box, even though she didn’t really expect finding anything that soon. To her surprise, she did find a letter in the box, however. It was neatly folded in an envelope, addressed to ‘The Young Huntress’. Unfolding it revealed a short letter in a brandished handwriting.

 

> Dear Ekon,
> 
> I have contacted the Helpful One, as we discussed. He has agreed on meeting you, suggesting tomorrow, Friday, at 2 a.m. I am aware that this is at short notice, so if I don’t receive your answer until 8 p.m., the meeting will be delayed until next week at the same time. He suggested the entrance of the crypt as meeting point, since you seem to know its whereabouts.
> 
> Please answer as soon as possible,
> 
> B.E.R.

Genuinely surprised, Julia stared a while at the letter. _That… was faster than expected. If this is a trap, they’re really in a hurry setting it up. But I think I’ll go there, nevertheless. I must admit, that leech doctor made me curious._ Using the lead pencil she sometimes used to draw when the muse struck her (which admittedly hadn’t happened often since her turning), she scrawled an answer at the back of the paper.

 

> Dearest Ghoul,
> 
> Friday 2 a.m. at the crypt sounds fine for me. I’d suggest you start running now if you are setting up a trap.
> 
> Yours sincerely,
> 
> Julia

After putting the paper back into the envelope, her scrawling facing the inside of the folded paper, Julia readdressed it with ‘To the esteemed queen of the sewers’ and dropped it back into the box. Smiling nervously, Julia headed back to her hideout, already going over the possible escape routes if the meeting tomorrow turned out badly.

Her sleep was restless, and the uncomfortable bed stinking of death and disease did not help. Julia was only too happy to get up as the sun went down, and after washing herself in a provisional basin filled with the water of one of her water bottles she headed out, taking her luggage with her. She knew of another empty house nearby and after checking for Priwen patrols and ghouls, she hid her belongings there. _I really have to find a better solution for this. Besides the inconvenience of moving every night, I’m always afraid of my things being stolen. Also, I’ll soon look like a rough sleeper if I keep this standard of hygiene up – most of these houses were cut from the running water, after all._ Frowning in worry, she went for a hunt to refill her blood reserves before encountering the doctor. Consulting her pocket watch she finally headed to Stonebridge cemetery, carefully avoiding the Priwen patrols.

The cemetery was quiet when Julia arrived, only the occasional shrieks of ghouls were to be heard, a matter that was easily resolved. She carefully went to the crypt afterwards, using her shadow veil to conceal herself. As she moved nearer, she draw in a deep breath, sensing the doctor even before she saw him. His blood smelled somehow… old. Old and dangerous, unlike any leech she had encountered before. Warily watching her surroundings, Julia went closer, now seeing the leech doctor for the first time. He was a quite tall, black-haired man with a full and well-groomed beard, clad into a finely worked attire she’d expect to find being worn of people from the West End. His coat looked somewhat banged up, however, and his right hand was resting on an impressing looking sword whilst his pale blue eyes were watching his surroundings warily. Quietly drawing her crossbow, Julia went behind the man, aiming for his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must admit, I chuckled a little bit when I wrote the end of this chapter.


	7. Coming Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to get Jonathan's view on things, no? Also, I did a double update today, so if you haven't read "Idle Conversation" yet, you should do so before reading this one ;).

With a heavy sigh, Jonathan stopped the car behind his family’s house. _Home. Finally._ The trip to Scotland had been exhausting, both physically and mentally. He seriously didn’t know what he would have done if he hadn’t been able to stop  Elisabeth from burning herself. Shuddering at the very thought, he got out of the car, happy to be finally leaving it – the distance from London to Elisabeth’s castle wasn’t exactly a short one and after two nights spent with driving, he felt quite worn out, even as an ekon. He headed for the balcony behind his room, not wanting to wake Avery at this early hour by using the front door. He stopped before heading in, however, as he noticed an envelope addressed to him being tucked between door and door frame. Frowning, he took it and unfolded the inlying letter.

> Dear Doctor Reid,
> 
> I am sorry to address you so soon after the events with Harriet Jones and I sincerely hope you were able to resolve the matters with your dear Lady, but my community finds itself in a dangerous situation. Therefore, I must ask you to come visiting us in our domain as soon as you can find the time, since I have to discuss these matters with you personally.
> 
> Yours sincerely,
> 
> Old Bridget

Jonathan’s eyebrows furled with worry. He seriously wouldn’t have expected to get mail from Old Bridget of all persons, and that she risked being spotted in this proximity to the Ascalon club told the doctor that the situation had to be dire, indeed. At least the letter’s date was the current one, so his absence probably hadn’t intensified the problem. It was too late to head to the sewers, however, since the sun would be rising soon. _I’ll have to visit her tomorrow as soon as I talked with Charlotte. _He had promised Elisabeth that he would talk to her daughter as soon as he was back, after all. His mind lost in deep thought, the doctor finally headed in, finding his mother and Avery fast asleep in their rooms. _At least mother didn’t stay up all night_ , he thought before he readied himself for bed and closed the curtains.

His sleep was restless, his dreams being filled with fire and smoke, Elisabeth burning within. He got up as soon as he felt the sun going down, only too happy to escape his nightmares. As he went to the hallway, he was greeted by his distraught looking mother.

“Jonathan! You are back! Where have you been? I was outside, looking for you, but I couldn’t find you anywhere – you shouldn’t stay away for so long!”, she exclaimed.

Jonathan frowned worriedly as he heard that. “I know, mother, and I am terribly sorry to have left so abruptly without notice. It had been an emergency. Do you remember the painter I have told you about?”

Emelyne nodded, her face slightly lighting up. “I do, my dear son, I do. Has she something to do with your absence?”.

“Yes, mother, she was in quite a distress and I needed to resolve some matters with her urgently. But things should be settled now, and I promise I will come by more often”, Jonathan replied in a soothing voice.

“I am happy to hear that, Johnny, and I am delighted you have finally found somebody to take care of, even if I had wished it had happened before you died. Will you have some tea with me, I was just about to have a cup?”, his mother responded, smiling happily.

Jonathan sighed quietly. “No, mother, I am sorry, but I can’t. I’m afraid I will have to leave now, I will be back in the morning, however”.

His mother’s expression faltered somewhat on that, but she answered “I understand, Jonathan. It is sad, I think your father and Mary wanted to come, too. It would have been lovely to have the whole family joined together again. But I know you have much to do, son. Goodbye, then, and please, come back soon!”

Jonathan’s face saddened at this. _So, she hasn’t gotten better._ “Goodbye, mother. Please try to rest”, Jonathan replied, trying to hide the worry in his voice. He had a short talk with Avery before leaving, informing him that he would probably coming by more often, now, and asking about his mother’s state. Unsurprisingly, Avery told him that her condition had not changed, even though he had been able to prevent her from wandering too far in her fruitless search for Jonathan. He could see the silent accusation in the man’s eyes as they talked about the latter. It was well deserved, though, and Jonathan didn’t comment on it. As he left the house, he headed towards the spot where Ms Ashbury normally was campaigning. He found it to be empty, however, so he headed to the address Elisabeth had given him. It turned out to be not far from Emely’s house. There was no answer to Jonathan’s knock and as he used his vampiric senses, he saw nobody inside. Furrowing his brow, he contemplated where else he could look. He didn’t know much about Ms Ashbury’s loose time activities, however. _I could try to check Elisabeth’s mansion. She had left so suddenly, maybe Charlotte is searching for her._

* * *

The way to the mansion took more time as anticipated since he had to avoid several Priwen patrols, not wanting to hurt the men if he could avoid it. When he saw Charlotte’s silhouette moving inside as he approached the house, a small flush of relief flooded his body. _So, she is safe, then._ The streets were dangerous nowadays, after all, and Ms Ashbury’s willingness to be turned into an ekon only added to the danger. He knocked determinately at the door, which was opened only a short time later, Charlotte peeking outside wearily. Her face lightened somewhat up as she recognized Jonathan, even though the worry didn’t leave her eyes.

“Dr Reid! Oh, I am so happy to see you! Do you know where my mother is?”, she asked in a hopeful voice.

Jonathan smiled reassuringly as he answered. “Yes, I do, Miss Ashbury, and I can assure you of her well-being. May I come in? This isn’t something I want to discuss on the street”.

Nodding with obvious relief on her face, Charlotte waved him in. “Of course, Dr Reid. I am so relieved; I haven’t heard from her for a week and I was afraid Priwen might’ve…” her voice trailed off.

After closing the door behind him, Jonathan squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Ms Ashbury, Priwen has no hold on her”.

They went for the chairs in front of the fireplace, Charlotte still looking somewhat distraught. “So, where is my mother? And why has she left without leaving any notice?”, she asked in a demanding tone.

“She went to her castle in Scotland”, Jonathan replied calmly.

“So, she fled from London? But why didn’t she tell me anything?”, Charlotte enquired.

“It… is complicated”, Jonathan replied. “Yes, she fled, but not from Priwen. I cannot tell you the exact reasons as it is not my place to give away Elisabeth’s secrets, but I can tell you that the current events in this city had left her quite distressed, up to a point where she saw the need to flee the city in fear to cause even more mayhem”.

He saw Charlotte frown at that, trying to make sense of his words. He went on before she could speak, however. “I went after her and I was able to prevent her from… any hasty actions. She decided to stay in Scotland as long as Priwen maintains its high activity, however, since returning to the city right now would be too dangerous. She had to see to some things up there, anyway”.

Contemplating on the things she just heard, Charlotte sat a moment in silence before she replied. “But you returned, despite the danger”.

Jonathan smiled weakly at that. “I have much to do here, Ms Ashbury, and I won’t be hunted down like an animal”.

Charlotte nodded. “I see. I still don’t understand why mother left without any notice, but I guess I will have to ask herself that when she returns. I thank you for informing me, nevertheless – I assume this was the reason you went here?”, she enquired.

“Yes, it was indeed. Elisabeth asked me to talk to you as soon as possible. She was quite worried that you might do something rash when searching for her”, Jonathan replied.

Ms Ashbury’s eyes narrowed a little at that, her tone sharp as she answered. “I can handle myself. Mother should know that; despite the fact she refuses to turn me into an immortal”.

Jonathan sighed mentally as he replied. “And Elisabeth knows that well, Ms Ashbury. But parents will always worry about their children”. His mouth twitched slightly. “Even my mother does, and she thinks of me as dead”.

Charlotte’s eyes widened at that. “As dead?”, she asked, shocked. “Why would she think that? Couldn’t you just talk to her? I mean, that should resolve that matter, shouldn’t it?”

Jonathan smiled sadly. “I did. But…”, he sighed heavily, “she isn’t well, Ms Ashbury. And my rebirth was not… peaceful, to say. It has destroyed my family, _I_ did. You should keep that in mind during your ventures”, he went on, narrowing his eyes.

“I’d say this is my decision to make, Dr Reid, as well as it was yours and mother’s decision to take no part in it”, Charlotte replied in a harsh tone.

Jonathans jaw tightened. “So, you still want this, even after what happened to your friend?”, he asked her. Ms Ashbury tensed a little bit at that, but her expression was stubborn. Jonathan sighed. “You are right, it is your decision, Ms Ashbury. You would do well to keep in mind that the immortality vampirism grants comes with a high cost, however. You will have to avoid the sun, which will impact your campaigning more than you might think now. And even though you intend to sate the thirst by hunting down criminals, you will find that doing so is harder than expected, as this hunger is not tamed easily. Not to forget what the need to kill sentient beings in order to survive does to one’s mind”.

Charlotte’s expression was defiant and knowing that his words wouldn’t do any good at the moment, Jonathan gave it up – for now. “I see that I can’t sway your opinion. I only ask you to at least think about my words, Ms Ashbury”, he went on.

Charlotte nodded curtly. “I know you have good intentions, Dr Reid, and I will consider your words even though I am sure of my decision”, she finally stated.

“I’ll leave you then, I have other matters to attend to”, Jonathan said whilst getting up.

Charlotte got up, too, her face more friendly now. “Of course, Dr Reid. Let me accompany you to the door. Will I see more of you in the next few days?”, she enquired.

Jonathan smiled at her. “As you tend to campaign closely to my home, we will certainly meet occasionally. I will also let you know if I hear anything about your mother”.

Ms Ashbury nodded in response, opening the door for Jonathan. “Then until we meet again, I suppose. And please, be careful about the hunters, Dr Reid”.

“I will. I am used to avoiding them by now, and I am more than able to defend myself if the need should arise. Good night, Ms Ashbury”.

“Good night, Dr Reid”.

* * *

Jonathan headed for the docks afterwards, finding most of the more direct ways being blocked by Priwen patrols. _These streets are crawling with Priwen. Have they been recruiting so many or are they focusing their activities here for some reason? Are they searching for me? But I’d guess that McCullum knows about my family’s house, so I would expect them to come there and to Pembroke…_ He found himself in front of said hospital shortly after as he solved the problem of the blocked bridges by simply jumping over the canal. He was just about to move on, eyeing his surroundings for Priwen activity, as he was stopped by a distraught looking Nurse Branagan.

“Dr Reid! You are finally back! Dr Ackroyd was looking for you and he was quite upset about your unannounced departure”.

Jonathan frowned shortly, before giving her a reassuring smile. “Yes, I just arrived this morning, in fact. But why is Dr Ackroyd searching for me?”

She gave him a disbelieving look, before her expression softened somewhat. “Ah, you wouldn’t know of course, since you left before it was decided… Dr Ackroyd was appointed as transitory administrator since Dr Tippets had turned down the offer”.

Jonathan frowned worriedly at that. “I see. I will see him immediately, then. Do you know where I can find him?”

“I think he will be in the old office of Dr Swansea, since he has made a habit to manage the paperwork before attending to the patients the last few days”, Nurse Branagan replied.

“Thank you, nurse”.

With that, the ekon headed inside the hospital. His senses told him that the hospital still was hopefully overwhelmed by flu patients, even though some of the other patients had obviously been released – like Mr Fiddick, for example. Dr Ackroyd was indeed in the former office of Edgar, exclaiming an annoyed ‘Come in’ upon Jonathan’s knock. The man was bent over some papers at the desk, looking up as the vampire entered the room.

“Dr Reid. So, our most esteemed staff member finally graces us with his presence”, he said, tone sharp.

“It was a family emergency, Dr Ackroyd. And I have left a note on Dr Swansea’s desk”, Jonathan replied firmly.

The transient administrator huffed at that, displeased. “Yes, I have seen it. But we find ourselves in a severe situation here, Dr Reid. The epidemic is far from broken and the hospital is overwhelmed with patients. We have lost a lot of staff recently, since they have either quit or got sick themselves. And the sad fate of Dr Swansea is only the culmination of our problems. That means the remaining staff members must be fully dedicated to their work and I can’t have one of the doctors vanishing for a whole week without any warning, in the interests of the patients and of this hospital. I do not get the feeling you have the dedication needed for this work, Dr Reid”.

“I assure you, the wellbeing of our patients and London’s citizens is my first priority”, Jonathan answered, placing his hands on the desk in front of him and locking his eyes with the man behind it.

Dr Ackroyd gave him a glacial stare. “Is that so? We haven’t seen you in surgery very often, and your latest absence was only the escalation of the many absences before. I have the feeling that working in this place may not be esteemed enough for you. Even though I cannot understand why you accepted the job in the first place, then”.

The ekon ruffled through his hair, sighing. “I know how this must look, Dr Ackroyd. And if you want me to leave, I will resign without causing a commotion. I would prefer to stay, nevertheless. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I do care about this hospital and its patients and I can promise you that I will be present here more often in the future”.

Dr Ackroyd sighed at that. He waved at the chair in front of the desk. “Please, have a seat, Dr Reid”.

As Jonathan sat down, his colleague continued. “Under normal circumstances, I would dismiss you. Your behaviour was not acceptable and, thinking about your reputation, I am also worried that you might have used your time and position for undue experimentation”. Jonathan stirred at that, his expression furious. “Please, let me continue”, Dr Ackroyd that, raising his hand and cutting in Jonathans reply.

“The situation is dire, however; this epidemic is overwhelming us, and we need every staff member we have. I have also heard some surprising things of some of the patients. As it seems, a Dr Jonathan Reid went to the less fortunate districts every night, providing medicine and medical expertise for free whilst conducting a research on the epidemic. Could you please enlighten me what I should make of this?”

Gathering himself, Jonathan answered after some seconds of silence, his voice firm but polite. “Yes, I provided the citizens who were not able or did not want to come to the hospital with free healthcare. If you want my head for that, so be it. As for the research… I was trying to perform an epidemiological study, finding sources of infection in order to impede its spread and assessing the effectiveness of prevention measures”. The ekon smiled tightly. “I have to admit that I didn’t have much success with that, however”.

His conversation partner nodded thoughtfully at that, playing with a pencil in his hands. “I see. Did you act on Dr Swansea’s orders, then?”

Jonathan hesitated, pursing his lips. “The conduction of research was indeed Dr Swansea’s order, yes, even though it matched my own interests. The provision of London’s citizens with medicine was on my own account, though, using my personal funds”.

Dr Ackroyd’s brows went up in surprise with the last sentence. “I wouldn’t have expected that kind of spirit in you, Dr Reid”. With a sigh, the man got up. “Very well. This conversation was indeed enlightening. And no, I do not wish your resignation, Dr Reid. I think you can still be a valuable addition to this hospital, especially if you dedicate more of your time to the healing instead of your research”.

Getting up himself, Jonathan answered “Of course, Dr Ackroyd”.

“I’ll see you to be added to the new rosters, then, starting tomorrow. I thought about giving you the day shift, I think your abilities…”

Jonathan tensed, interrupting his conversation partner. “ **No. I can dedicate most of my nights to this hospital, but I will only work when the sun is down** ”.

His colleague’s eyes glazed over, and he nodded dreamingly. “All right, Dr Reid. I’ll make sure you only have night shifts”, he answered, voice somewhat aloof. “I think we could have your shifts in the hospital starting at midnight until sunrise – then you could keep up with providing medication to the poorer districts during the evening hours. I appreciate the idea, since people are hesitant to leave the house these days and it could prevent the spread of other diseases. And I’ll leave the Fridays to your own discretion, for your research”. He narrowed his eyes, his gaze now clear again. “I am looking forward to read about your findings, Dr Reid. And I sincerely hope to find nothing undue in it, as I will see your licence being revoked if you are conducting any unethical research”.

The ekon nodded at that. “Of course, Dr Ackroyd. I will allow you to inspect my results, as soon as I have gathered enough material. And I thank you for your accommodation regarding my shifts, I highly appreciate it”.

“Very well, Dr Reid. I think that should be everything then, you are dismissed. I am quite busy, after all”.

“Thank you for your time. I’m sure we’ll talk again later”.

Drawing in a deep breath, Jonathan left the office. That went better than he had apprehended, especially when he had heard that Dr Ackroyd of all persons was the transitory administrator. With a relieved smile on his lips, Jonathan went towards his office, planning to get some medicine he could provide Sean’s shelter with. His smile turned into a worried frown, however, as he found the office’s door unlocked. Opening it revealed his room to be ransacked, the notes of his research being tattered everywhere, and the cupboards being opened, their content sprawled on the ground carelessly. _What has happened in here? Who has done this? One of my colleagues?_ But none of his colleagues would have medical equipment lying on the floor like that. Carefully, Jonathan stepped into the room, picking up and replacing items one by one as he went. Going through his notes revealed that some of them were missing, all of them dealing with the blood of hate and its cure. Jonathan's frown deepened worriedly. He was almost done with tidying up the room, when he found a very special drawer being empty, his inners turning to ice upon the realization. _King Arthur’s blood is missing. My god, if this has gotten in the wrong hands…_ It was then when he saw the small note where the flask had been.

> I wouldn’t have thought you for a thieve, leech, but then I can’t say that I’m surprised by anything with your kind. I came to claim back the guard’s property, and when I didn’t find you in your lair, I helped myself. I also took some of your nefarious research, I’m sure you don’t mind.
> 
> Until we meet again,
> 
> Geoffrey McCullum

_So, it was McCullum who intruded here._ Even though it had been a hunter who intruded, Jonathan felt relieved. If his research had gotten in the wrong hands, it could have been disastrous. At least the guard of Priwen wouldn’t use it to create another vampire epidemic. _One would have thought that a hunter of all men would be more patient._ He sighed as he headed for his workbench to create some medicine. _But then I guess ‘patience’ is really not the right term to describe McCullum_.

* * *

He headed out some time after, his coat’s pockets heavy with medicine. The way to Sean’s shelter took annoyingly long since the streets where packed with guards of Priwen, obviously searching for somebody. _I wonder what the cause of this accommodation is._ He was able to avoid them most of the time, however, and as he arrived at the former fabric hall the streets had finally gotten quiet again. He was welcomed by a coughing Lottie Paxton, whom he handed out a medicine against her cold immediately. Their short exchange had caught the attention of the Sad Saint, who came out of his private room to greet Jonathan.

“Welcome back to my humble shelter, Dr Reid. You have received Old Bridget’s massage, I suppose?”, he asked as he approached.

“Yes, Sean. I am here to visit her. Do you know anything about this matter?”, Jonathan replied.

The skal frowned in worry, his eyes lost in troubled thoughts as he answered. “She has informed me about the problem as it might also concern me. I have the feeling that she will want to discuss these matters with you personally however, so I would suggest you ask her about it”.

Jonathan nodded at that. “I understand. Before I go, how are things in your shelter? I have seen Lottie Paxton is ill, do you have more cases of disease? I could provide you with medicine and my medical expertise, if needed”.

Sean smiled at him. “I thank you, Dr Reid, this is a very kind offer. We have indeed some cases of sickness here, I can tell them to come and see you”.

“That is much appreciated. I will come back as soon as I have talked with Old Bridget and have a look at them. But, how are you? Is your hunger still satisfied? And are you safe here? I have seen many Priwen patrols on the streets when coming here, and I was worried”.

Sean fidgeted a little bit at that, but his voice was firm as he replied. “Yes, I still do not hunger. And I didn’t have trouble with the guard of Priwen yet, I do not think they know of my condition, thanked be the Lord. They did come during this day and ask about a pale, brown-haired woman in a trench coat foreign to this city, however, but they left since nobody could tell them anything”.

Jonathan frowned a little bit at that, before he replied. “All right Sean. Farewell, I shall be back soon”.

“May the Lord guide your steps, Dr Reid”.

Leaving the man to his flock, Jonathan headed for the hidden entrance to the domain of the sewer skals. There were some bodies lying around, probably a gift from Sean to the Skals to feed them. He didn’t see any signs of a violent death on them, they seemed to be mostly flu victims. As he approached the Sewer Skals’ hideout, he could make out hurried movements together with voices speaking in a hushed, anxious tone. Before he could even enter the cavern, however, he was greeted by Old Bridget, her face worried.

“So, you received my message. I’m happy you were able to come, young ekon”.

Jonathan smiled warmly at the woman, even though his eyes were troubled. “Of course I came, Old Bridget. What is the matter? I hope we do not have another disaster at our hands?”

The skal shook her head. “No, the problem is of a completely other nature. But come, let’s sit down, as this conversation might take some time”.

She led him to the private room the skals had prepared for him in case he ever got caught by the sunlight whilst being in the sewers. He could make out some skals roaming about on their way, even though it were much fewer than before due to the massacre Harriet Jones had caused. They seemed all to be very nervous, relaxing only a little bit when realizing he was their visitor. All of them seemed to be in the process of packing things into various boxes as Jonathan noticed.

“Are you leaving?”, he asked worriedly as they arrived in the room, Old Bridget closing the door behind them.

“Yes”, the woman replied, sitting down on one of the chairs. “We will hide further down in the sewers, for time being, since our hideout has been compromised”.

Jonathan frowned. “Compromised? Has Priwen found you? Or the Ascalon club?”, he asked, seating himself in front of her.

Old Bridget sighed. “No, I do not think so. But, please, let me start at the beginning, young Ekon”. Jonathan nodded his approval, listening her story quietly.

“When this terrible menace took most of our community, some of them were able to flee to the streets. Many were hunted down by Priwen and, eventually, the few that survived came back. They did not all come back immediately, however, and we believe some of them are still outside. So, one of ours with a brave heart, Lucius, went out at night in search for them. During his last night’s search, he encountered a female ekon, crouching over a dead body. She referred to him as ‘dessert’ as she saw him and began to hunt him down immediately. He fled into the sewers, but she managed to follow him, finding our hideout. Lucius was able to warn me in time about his pursuer, however, so I went into the tunnel to greet her and to defend our community if needed”. She locked her eyes with Jonathan’s, her expression troubled. “She did not attack, but I think the main reason was that she was not sure if she was able to defeat us all. Her tone was quite vicious throughout our conversation”.

Jonathan’s frown deepened. “So, why did she hunt one of yours? Does she despise the skals as some ekons do?”, he asked. “Or do you think she is Lord Redgrave’s new servant? I can’t imagine him entrusting any of his affairs being handled by a woman, though…”

Old Bridget smiled weakly at that. “No, the Earl of Bristol surely wouldn’t entrust anything into a woman’s hands. But I asked her the very same question you’ve just asked me, and her answer sounded like the one I would expect from a Priwen guard, not from an ekon. She referred to us as beasts, Dr Reid, and not only to us but also to her own kind”, she answered, her voice sad.

They sat in short silence as Jonathan pondered at that. “So, do you think she is a turned Priwen guard, then? But if that is the case, how did you get her to back down?”, he finally asked.

The skal furrowed her brow in thought. “I honestly don’t know if she was with Priwen, young ekon. She seemed to hate our kind, and I could feel pain and confusion radiating from her. But as hostile as she was, she did at least listen somewhat to my words, being concerned about the safety of the humans. From her behaviour and words, I’d gather that she is a newborn, and an abandoned one at that. I am also quite sure that her previous encounters with other ekons and skals weren’t pleasant ones. Under normal circumstances, I might have attacked her before she becomes a threat to our community, but…” Old Bridget hesitated, shaking her head. “despite her age, she smelled of old blood, Dr Reid, much like you do. I do not know if I would have been able to defeat her. And as vicious her demeanour was, I think she might have good intentions. She is lost, though, and in dire need of guidance”.

Jonathan’s brows arched in surprise as he heard that. “She smells of old blood and seemed to be abandoned?”, he asked, his thoughts racing. “This sounds awfully familiar…”

Old Bridget nodded with a sad smile. “Yes, it does indeed, young ekon. Which is why I made her a proposal”. The skal locked her eyes with his. “If what I think applies, she might be as lost as you were when encountering the wise ekon. So, I asked her to meet with you, as, considering the similarities, you might be able to provide her with the guidance she needs. I am sorry to endanger you with this matter, but I thought it was the best solution”.

The doctor thought a moment about that, before replying “There is no need to apologize, and I agree with you. What exactly did you conclude with her?”

Old Bridget’s face relaxed a little bit at that before she continued. “She agreed to meet you and proposed to create a dead drop at the big crypt of Stonebridge cemetery to clarify the exact place and date. She also agreed to take no actions against us or you before hearing you out, but I do not know if she will stand to her word”.

Jonathan nodded thoughtfully. “As she does seem to know the whereabouts of the crypt, I’d propose I meet her there. It is a quiet place during the night. For the time…” he pondered a little “… I will have to work most days, but I have the Fridays for my own discretion…”.

They discussed a little bit more about the exact details, agreeing on Jonathan providing the dead drop with the note and checking it for her answer, before Old Bridget fetched a piece of paper and a pencil, writing a letter to the mysterious ekon. As she was done, she put it into an envelope and handed it to Jonathan, who tucked it into his coat. Lost in thoughts, he made his way back to the shelter, providing the people there with medicine before heading to Stonebridge cemetery. He found the cemetery to be eerily quiet, since no skals at all were to be seen. _I wonder if this is thanks to our mysterious ekon…_ Jonathan mused as he went to the dead drop, his senses on high alert. He didn’t encounter anyone, though, and as he was done, he headed back to his family’s mansion, deciding to use the remaining time until sunrise for preparing some serums for an eventual fight and taking care of his mother.

 To his surprise, he found an answer in the box at the beginning of next night. He had to bite back an amused smile as he read the recipient the ekon had written on the envelope. Her answer was positive, even if unpolite. Jonathan spent some of the remaining time with hunting for rats, occasionally putting down some skals, in order to fill his blood reserves for an eventual fight. It was shortly before two o’clock as he went in front of the crypt, eyeing his surroundings without finding anyone. Keeping his senses on high alert, he waited there, one hand lying on Dragonbane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I outright laughed when I wrote the end of _this_ chapter. I'm enjoying these cliffhangers really too much.


	8. A Grave Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, time to finally dissolve that cliffhanger, isn't it? ~~(What a pity)~~ Let's see if Jonathan get's a bolt through his head or not.

Suddenly, Jonathan’s hackles raised as he felt a presence behind him.

“So, you’re that leech doctor”, a female voice said scornfully.

Whirling around, he assessed the ekon that had suddenly shown up in front of the crypt’s door. She was slightly bigger than the average woman and had brown, smooth hair she wore in a messy plait. Her blood smelt old, a smell a little bit like Lady Ashbury’s. Surprisingly, the smell didn’t seem to warn his senses from danger, however, since she seemed to be… inconspicuous somehow, despite her vicious demeanour. Her pale blue-green eyes were watching Jonathan warily. In her right hand she held a black crossbow, pointing straight at Jonathan’s face.

“I suppose one could call me that, yes”, Jonathan replied, his body tensing slightly while carefully watching her and her crossbow. “Even though I would prefer to be called by my name, Dr Jonathan Reid. As I would prefer to call you by yours, Ms… ?”

“I don’t expect courtesy from a leech, but you can call me Ms Leigh, if you wish so”, the woman sneered, not lowering her weapon.

“Normally, I would say it is nice to meet you, Ms Leigh, but under these circumstances… I have been told that you would not take any hostile actions against me before hearing me out”, Jonathan answered, nodding slightly at the crossbow aiming for him.

The woman snorted. “And I didn’t, leech. If I would’ve taken ‘hostile actions’ against you, this bolt would be sticking inside you right now”.

The doctor sighed. “I see. I can assure you, however, that pointing a weapon into my face is not necessary. It is quite rude, in fact, and I would prefer it if you could lower your weapon during our conversation”.

“I don’t think so, beast”, the woman replied, clicking her tongue. “’s far as I am concerned, I’m already forthcoming by _not_ shooting this nice little bolt through your head before you even realised I was there. I came here because I was told you may have to say things that could be interesting for me, however, so I’d suggest you’d start talking before my patience runs out”.

Jonathan nodded slightly, careful to avoid any movements that could cause her to shoot. “Alright, Ms Leigh. So, what is it you want to know?”

The other ekon glared at him, grimacing as she answered. “This ghoul lady said you had ‘good intentions’. I asked a little bit around, and the people on the street said you’d be providing medicine for free in the poor districts”. She narrowed her eyes. “So, what is it you are planning, leech? Which ruse did your beast mind come up with?”.

The doctor sighed again. “I am not planning anything, Ms Leigh, and handing out medicine to the sick surely is no ruse. I’m a doctor, after all, and I am sworn to heal people”.

Ms Leigh snorted at that. “Yeah, sure, beast. Stop pretending to be what you aren’t. We are monsters, with a yearning to rip out the throats of the living and to indulge ourselves in their blood, not healing them. I have seen the sick games other leeches play, and I will stop yours”. Jonathan could see her finger curling around the trigger.

“Ms Leigh, please, could you at least stay civil until we are done with this conversation!?”, the doctor enquired in a strained voice.

“Tch. I _am_ civil, beast, but I think this conversation will come to an end soon”, the woman spat.

Jonathan shook his head slightly. “But it has not ended, yet. You are not entirely wrong about our instincts, however, but we _are_ intelligent beings, able to withstand our desires”.

The other ekon huffed. “Maybe in the beginning, leech, but we’ll fall to them eventually. Maybe you are even honest with me, still pretending to be something you’re not and playing the nice, dutiful doctor. But one of these days, a patient of yours will be bleeding too much for you to take it and you will rip out their throat. And then, you’ll fall. Believe me, I’ve seen it in the memories of the leeches I’ve killed. We all fall, sooner or later. You will do the same, as will I. It’s only a matter of time”, Ms Leigh sneered, her voice bitter.

 _So much pain. Old Bridget was right. This woman is in almost as much pain as my poor Mary was when she asked me to take her life._ With a compassionate gaze, Jonathan answered in a comforting tone. “I do not know what you have seen, Ms Leigh, but your image of things is incomplete. I do know of vampires who are existing peacefully for decades if not for hundreds of years. It is not easy, but it is possible”.

“I don’t believe you, leech. I know what I’ve seen, and moreover, I know what _I_ have become. I feel that terrible hunger gnawing at me every minute, and when I talk to a human, I have to fight the urge to just _drain_ them until nothing is left. And whilst I try to tell myself that I’m only hunting leeches and ghouls to keep them from killing humans, truth is, I _enjoy_ this hunt. I _enjoy_ piercing their hearts with a perfect shot, I _enjoy_ it to rip out their throats and my whole body _craves_ for their blood! I am a monster, Dr Reid, as are you!” Julia’s voice had become increasingly louder as she spoke, almost cracking at the end.

Jonathan assessed her carefully while he answered. “Whilst I am sure there are also human hunters who truly enjoy what they are doing, if you really think you are a monster for what you feel, what is your plan then? Exterminating all vampires you can find before ending yourself?”

The woman huffed at that. “I don’t think I’ll be able to do that. One of these days, one of the beasts I hunt will be stronger than me, and I’ll get what’s coming to me”.

Jonathan stared at her, disbelieving. “This course of action is utterly self-destructive, Ms Leigh! I know it is hard to believe, but this _condition_ doesn’t mean you have to throw your life away!”

“Throw my life away!?”, Julia yelled, voice cracking, her left hand gesticulating wildly. “What _life_ is it you are talking about, leech? I died when I was turned into this _thing_ , the Julia that worked in a factory to pay her bills, the Julia that used to joke around with her friends in the evening and loved to cook died in some feckin’ back alley! I have no _life_ to throw away, beast, for I have become _death_! The only thing for me to do before someone puts me down for good is to take as many monsters with me as I can!”.

The man stared at her, seemingly at a loss for words. Then, he shook his head and said “Come with me”.

Julia gripped her crossbow tighter, preparing for the fight to come. “Do you think I’m stupid, leech? I’ll sure ‘s hell won’t follow you into some trap!”

Her conversation partner drew in a deep breath, seemingly annoyed. “If I wanted to lure you into a trap, I could’ve simply set it up here, don’t you think? I merely want to show you something, it isn’t far”.

Narrowing her eyes, Julia gesticulated with her crossbow in front of her. “All right, leech, I’ll follow you. But one wrong move and I’ll impale your heart”.

The leech began to move, Julia following cautiously behind him, senses on high alert. They went through the quiet cemetery, stopping finally in front of a grave. Julia assessed it curiously, the gravestone reading ‘Mary Reid, 4th July 1882 – 28th October 1918, beloved daughter and sister’.

Glancing up at the vampire in front of her, Julia asked “And what is that supposed to mean? Why’re you showing me a grave, leech? Do you wish me to put you next to it?”

The leech looked at her, his expression unreadable. “No. This is the grave of my twin, Ms Leigh. And the date of her death you’re reading here was the date of my… rebirth”, he answered in a grave voice. “When I… woke up, I found myself in a mass grave. And the only living being nearby was a single woman, embracing me desperately when I had made my way towards her. I couldn’t think of anything else than blood at this time, and so I bit down, drinking everything”. He went shortly quiet after that, contemplating in dark thoughts. “It was too late when I realised… the woman I have bitten, that I have _murdered,_ was my sister, Ms Leigh. My poor, sweet Mary”.

Julia’s eyes widened, and she retreated slightly, her crossbow still aiming at the doctor’s head. “You killed your _own sister_!?”, she spat, disbelieving. “And what, exactly, in your story should make me believe that we are not monsters, then? That we can control our urges!? I should put you down right now!”

The man sighed. “I had the same thoughts afterwards. I was all alone, I didn’t understand what had happened to me and why I had become a monster killing my own sister without even realising it. Nothing made any sense and I half believed it to be a nightmare, so… I had found a gun in the empty house I was hiding from the daylight at the point, and I…” he locked his eyes with hers, before he continued with firm voice. “I tried to end myself this night, Ms Leigh. If I hadn’t missed my heart…”

Dr Reid shook his head. “My point is, I understand how you are feeling right now. And yes, you are correct, we _have_ become death. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that we should just stop and lie down to end ourselves. I cannot change what I have done to my sweet Mary, and it will haunt me forever, a fate well-deserved. It wouldn’t help my sister if I just ended myself, however. It wouldn’t bring her back to life, I cannot reverse what I have done. But what I _can_ do is to use the time that was granted to me by fighting this hunger and using my abilities to _help_ people. It won’t reverse anything. It won’t even be a redemption, but it might change the life of others for the better. And that is something to live for, even if it’s only an un-life, don’t you think?”

Julia stared at him, disbelievingly. Finally, she answered. “That may be right, Dr Reid. But what makes you think that you will be able to fight your thirst forever? What if, some day, you snap and hurt the very people you wanted to protect? You said it yourself, you couldn’t think for anything than blood, and I know that feeling all too well from my awakening. What if it happens again? This ‘condition’, as you called it had you murder your own sister, for god’s sake!”.

The man nodded at that. “You are correct, Ms Leigh, I can’t be sure. But we can’t build our lives on ‘what-ifs’. And I know that others _have_ managed to lead a peaceful life for decades. If they can do this, so can I and so can you. I have not taken a single life in order to sate my thirst since the sad fate of my poor Mary and I do not intend to change this. And as for the craving for blood…” he stared intensely at her, “… whilst our bodies need it and crave for it like an addict would crave for his drugs, worse even, it _is_ possible to withstand the thirst. You warned me before that one day, a patient might be bleeding too much, that I might kill the ones I’m sworn to heal. And you know what? It already almost happened. I had a patient, and he was bleeding terribly, so terribly the only thing I could see was the _blood_. But I didn’t kill him. I _operated_ him. I won’t claim that it wasn’t terribly hard, and I also won’t claim that I hadn’t to fight the urge to _just bite down_ every single second. But I managed. And I will do so again”.

He went quiet after that, both standing silently in front of the grave for some moments. “I wish I could believe you”, Julia finally whispered with bowed had, her voice terribly sad. “I really do. But… how should I know if you aren’t just tellin’ me pretty lies?”

She raised her head to look into the doctor’s eyes. “How should I know if you aren’t just playing a game with me, something that leeches seem to be so very fond of?”.

Jonathan held her gaze, trying everything he could to get through to her. “I can’t prove my words’ truth right away, Ms Leigh, only time can do that”. He gazed back at the grave stone, seemingly lost in thoughts, before looking back to her. “Will you give me this time? Will you give the sewer skals this time? They might be monsters, Ms Leigh, but they are fighting their urges as much as I do, and they are a peaceful group. They do not deserve to die”.

Julia stared through him, biting her lip in thought. “I can agree on giving you time, Dr Reid. I want to take your words as truth, I…” she drew in a sharp breath “… I searched for someone like you in the beginning, you know. For a ‘leech with good intentions’. But for the sewer ghouls…” Julia shook her head. “It is one thing to try trusting you, Reid. I know the thirst you feel, as I feel the same and struggle every minute with it. But what they are feeling…” her breath caught. “It is not the same. I saw it in the memories of the two I’ve drained. The worst is not the hunger, but this voice, this terrible voice with its beautiful, terrible song…”

“Wait, what voice!? What song?”, Jonathan interrupted her, aghast. He almost tried to grab her at her shoulders in his agitation, only remembering about the situation in the last moment. “What did happen, exactly?”, the male ekon enquired, his worried gaze assessing the woman in front of him completely.

Surprised of his fierce reaction, Julia furrowed her brow. “The first evenin’ after I came to London, I drained one of the ghouls that’re roaming the streets. I had expected the hunger, it always intensifies for a moment when I drain an undead but this…” her voice trailed off. Taking a moment to gather herself, Julia finally continued. “It wasn’t just the hunger. This creature, it wasn’t even able to think coherently. Not with this voice singing inside his head. It was such a wonderful song…” Julia locked her eyes with the worried ones’ of the doctor.

“This voice”, he asked, the worry distinct in his tone, “what did it sing about? And do you still hear it?”

Julia shook her head. “No, I don’t hear it anymore. As I said, it was just the memory. And the song… I really can’t describe it properly. It was wonderful, alluring and terrible at the same time. It sang from hate, blood, violence and death and despite the gruesomeness of it, it held an unbelievable beauty”. She lowered her gaze, ashamed. “For a moment, I even wanted to follow it. I wanted to dance to its tune. I’ve… I’ve never encountered anything like it and I don’t think anybody could withstand this for a longer period of time. It is so unlike the voice I normally hear…”

Aghast at what she had just revealed, Julia glanced at the doctor. To her surprise, he didn’t look taken aback, even the worry in his gaze had somewhat diminished. “I see”, he finally answered, drawing in a deep breath. “This voice you normally hear… I suppose you hear it only since your transformation? What does it sound like? What did it say?”

Julia narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “You don’t sound like you’re think I’m crazy. You know somethin’”.

The man in front of her smiled slightly. “Yes, I do indeed, Ms Leigh. Therefore, I would ask you to answer my questions and I may provide you with the information I have”.

Julia watched him suspiciously. _How much can I trust him? His words sound honest, and I’d truly like to believe them, but can they be true? And why should he even care of the voices I am hearing? But then, what harm can it do to tell him? And if he really knows something about it…_ “I can’t tell you much, I am afraid. ‘s a male voice, sounding harsh and used to commanding. And somehow… old, mostly ‘cause of the way he speaks. He didn’t speak often, though. One time, he warned me from an attack when I fought my first leech. Told me how to kill them properly”. She made a face. “Afterwards, he ‘suggested’ that I should go to London. He pestered me every feckin’ evening with this, in fact, until I finally went here. He’s been quiet, since then. But I indeed didn’t hear it before my… turning”.

Dr Reid nodded at that. “I see. Did he speak in riddles and allegories?”, he enquired.

“In riddles and allegories?”, Julia responded, surprised. “I don’t think I can say so. He has a habit of not answering my questions and not explaining anything, but the few things he _did_ say were quite clear. So, will you tell me now what this is about, or will you just bug me to no end?”

Jonathan gave her a small smile at that. “I will explain. First and foremost, you are not crazy. Whilst hearing voices is disturbing, for some vampires it is… normal”. Seeing her frown, he continued. “When a vampire of a strong bloodline creates a progeny, he will also create a… bond of mind. Meaning that the progeny will be able to hear some of its maker’s thoughts. And you surely _are_ of a strong bloodline, Ms Leigh, I could smell it the very first moment I noticed you”.

Julia’s eyes widened at that. “So, this feckin’ voice in my head _indeed_ belongs to the bastard who cursed me with this shit?”, she exclaimed.

“Yes. And from your words, you don’t seem to know who he is?”, Jonathan enquired.

Julia shook her head, growling silently. “No. That feckin’ abortion hadn’t the courtesy to introduce himself. Left me dyin’ in a back alley, waking up on a pile of corpses created by another monster”. She looked at the man in front of her with a sharp gaze. “But you seem to know an awful lot about that. And you smell powerful”, she stated.

Jonathan smiled tightly. “Yes, I would, as I also have a habit of hearing a voice inside my head. I highly doubt that we share the same maker, however, since my maker is… elusive. And he usually places his words in a most enigmatic way, which doesn’t sound like the description you just gave me”.

Julia nodded thoughtfully at that. “I am not entirely sure if I believe you, leech, if I can even trust any of your words. But then, I can’t see a reason why you should make this up… These ghouls, were they made by another powerful ghoul, then?”.

Jonathan sighed. “No. The feral skals are another thing entirely. You see, under normal circumstances, a skal is not able to create progeny”.

Julia looked at him, surprised. “They can’t… but how are these ‘skals’ made, then?”, she enquired.

Jonathan sighed again. “How much do you know about the creation of new vampires, Ms Leigh?”.

Julia furrowed her brow. “Well, I know from the memories of the other leeches that if a human drinks leech blood, he’ll become a leech himself. I’m not sure if he has to drink it directly from the source, though”.

The doctor nodded. “This is correct, and it doesn’t have to come directly from the source, even an injection suffices. The turning process is not an easy one, however. In order to change a human body to an organism solely existing on blood, the concerning person must endure an excruciating process. Not all mortals survive the process, especially if the turning is performed carelessly”. He locked his eyes with hers. “The chance of a successful turning process also depends on the maker’s strength, as a powerful maker will create powerful progeny with a high success rate, at least this is what I have gathered over the last few weeks. But even if the potential progeny does not die during the process, it still can go wrong, creating not an ekon like you and me but a skal, or ghoul, as you prefer to call them”.

Julia frowned, processing the just heard. “So, you’re tellin’ me these ghouls are the product of a careless maker?”, she finally asked.

“Normally skals are, yes, or of an ekon with a weak bloodline. And whilst sharing some properties with their makers, like the enhanced strength and speed as well as the inability to endure the sunlight, they do not share all of them. They can, for example, sate their hunger by feeding of corpses, even though they still have a craving for blood. Especially the blood of ekons, in fact. And ekon blood can sate their hunger in a way none other can, keeping them satiated for at least weeks. Also, they are not repelled by holy symbols in the same way as we ekons are. And, normally, they are not able to hear the voice of their maker”.

“But these ghouls I’ve drained…”

“I was coming to that”, Jonathan interrupted her. “As I told you, these feral skals are another thing entirely. In contrast to normal skals, they _are_ able to produce progeny. These beasts were the result of an unethical research of a man trying to cure this terrible epidemic”.

Julia’s eyes widened. “Wait, you’re tellin’ me that the very reason the streets of this city are crammed with monsters is an experiment going wrong!?” She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Did you…”

“No!”, Jonathan interrupted her agitatedly. “And I am tired of hearing this accusation. I am trying to _fight_ this skal epidemic, I didn’t contribute to it. It had already started before I even _was_ in London, let alone turned into an ekon!”

Julia stepped a little bit back, surprised by his outburst. “Alright, I believe you. That Priwen guy kind of said the same, after all”.

Jonathan frowned at that. “What ‘Priwen guy’?”.

 _Oops._ Julia blushed slightly as she answered. “Well… um… When that ghoul lady proposed to set up a meeting with you, I might’ve conducted a small enquiry ‘bout you. Well, and when I, um, _visited_ your lair at Pembroke, I might have run into some Priwen guy sniffin’ around. He wasn’t exactly forthcoming, me being what I am, but with a little… persuasion from my side he told me a little something. I didn’t hurt him, though!”.

Jonathan’s eyes narrowed slightly, even though he couldn’t stop his lips twitching with amusement.

“So, let me get this straight: You did not only break into my office at the Pembroke hospital” – “the door was open!” – “but”, he continued, not reacting to her interjection, “you also managed to ‘persuade’ Geoffrey McCullum, the very leader of Priwen himself to have a small chat with you about me?”

Julia blinked at that. “That was McCullum? And his first name is Geoffrey? Are you sure?”, she asked after a moment of silence.

Jonathan arched an eyebrow. “As _someone_ created quite a havoc in my office as well as taking some of my notes together with a relic belonging to the guard, leaving a note signed with McCullum’s name behind, I would think so, yes. I’d also doubt that he’d send any other guard to Pembroke, considering our last… encounter in the hospital”.

“Shit”, Julia mumbled. “That’s bad. Really bad…”

Jonathan narrowed his eyes. “You’re not telling me everything. You said you didn’t hurt him, yes?”

Julia pressed her lips together, blushing slightly. “I didn’t… not physically, at least… It’s not important, just forget about it”.

Dr Reid shook his head. “I can’t force you to tell me, Ms Leigh. But I’d advise you to be careful. McCullum is a serious foe and not very forgiving, not to forget that he furiously hates our kind.” He sighed, rubbing his hand over his forehead. “But back to our actual topic, the sewer skals. As I told you, the skals you have encountered on the streets are completely different from them and the result of an awful experiment. Someone used ekon blood on a patient infected by the influenza virus with the aim to use its regenerative properties to create a cure. What he didn’t know, however, was that the blood he used was tainted… the taint of this blood combined itself with the virus, spreading the taint like the virus does”.

Julia gave him a disbelieving look. “This sounds crazy!”, she exclaimed.

Jonathan smirked. “I know. But then most things about vampirism do. I was able to locate the source of infection, however, and I have put an end to it. The skals which are roaming the streets are still infectious and driven by the madness, nevertheless. I _assume_ their taint will be watered down with time, though, stopping the infection when enough of them are put down.”

“But what of this voice? Whose is it? And if I heard it…”, Julia’s eyes widened. “Am I infected, too?”

Jonathan smiled reassuringly. “That voice… it belongs to the… creature that ultimately caused the taint. I am not sure if I can even describe it properly and if it can ever be put down permanently. It shouldn’t cause more mayhem for time being, however. And I do not think you are infected, Ms Leigh. You wouldn’t be able to talk to me like you do now if you were. This thought was the exact reason I was so concerned when you told me first about that song, however. And whilst I know that you do not entirely trust me, I do ask you to accompany me to Pembroke hospital. I have found means to prevent the infection, I used it on myself before fighting the source of this menace. I still have two doses of the antidote I used left, and if you wish to continue with your hunt on the feral skals, I insist that you take one of them. I will not risk having an infected ekon rampaging the streets of London. I also have a proposal for you, anyway, we could discuss it on our way”.

Julia raised her eyebrows at that. “And how do I know that you are not tryin’ to lure me into some trap, leech?”, she enquired, her tone wary again. “And what’s this ‘cure’, exactly?”.

The doctor sighed. “The cure consists basically of a mixture of blood from powerful vampires since stronger blood can block the effects of weaker blood. I have also added insulin, as this will enhance the uptake into your cells. And as for the trap…”, he nodded to her crossbow, which was already lowered for some time now. “Don’t you think that if I truly wished to harm you, I’d have done so already? I understand your mistrust, but as you have felt the red queen’s wrath yourself you will surely agree that the risk of not treating you is too high to take”.

Julia lowered her gaze on her weapon, only now registering she had lowered it. After some time, she finally responded. “Fine. I’ll take your cure. But that doesn’t mean I trust you, leech”.

Jonathan smirked at that, already moving to the cemetery’s exit. “Follow me then. You know where Pembroke is, anyway, since you’ve already broken in. And I am aware you are not trusting me. This is what my proposal is about”. Julia arched an eyebrow while she followed behind him.

* * *

“You told me you’ll give me time to prove myself. I will have to work the next few days and I can’t have you around in the hospital as it would not only arise suspicion, but I also do not trust _you_ enough to hold yourself back whilst being surrounded by blood. Before my shifts, I will, however, do rounds in the nearby districts, providing the citizens there with direly needed medicine. You could accompany me, if you wish so. Doing this, you could see for yourself that I am sincere – see it as a way to protect the mortals from a monster, if you want. And since the streets are not safe – and I am not talking about the Priwen guards but about these feral skals – I really wouldn’t mind about some company on my way which has my back during the fights. In exchange, you will leave the sewer skals alone, for time being. Unlike the feral skals on the streets, their blood is not tainted and all they wish for is a peaceful existence”.

Julia contemplated a while on that, before finally agreeing. “Fine. If you’re tellin’ the truth, putting them down would be wrong and fighting one of the few decent leeches would be even more wrong. And if not, I’ll have to see to a strategy to fight you before acting, anyway”.

Jonathan’s lips twitched at her explanation, even if he was unsure if he should be amused or offended by it. “Very well. We’ll meet at 6 p.m. under my balcony at the Pembroke hospital, then”. The next few minutes went by quietly, both of them contemplating on the conversation they just had. After avoiding a Priwen patrol on the bridge by shadow-jumping over the canal some metres further down, the doctor resumed with the conversation. “Where are you from?”, he enquired.

“What?”, Julia asked, pulled from her thoughts.

“I asked where you are coming from”, Jonathan repeated. “You mentioned that you’re not from here and whilst your accent sounds mostly Irish, it has a tinge I just can’t place. So, I’m curious…”

“I’m from Dublin. Lived there for the past… 14 years. But I wasn’t born there, that’s true. Wasn’t even born in England”, she answered curtly.

Jonathan waited patiently if she would explain further, but when nothing came, he simply nodded. “I suppose that explains the accent. It had to be quite a journey, coming here”.

“’t was”, Julia said shortly, not wanting to go into the details.

The male ekon sighed. “Well, we’re here, anyway”.

With that, he jumped onto the balcony, Julia following shortly after. He rummaged a little bit around in some of the cupboards, taking out a small bottle filled with a red liquid and a syringe alongside with a cotton ball and an antiseptic, moving to the sink beside the door to wash his hands afterwards. Filling the syringe, he said “Could you please free one of your arms?” Julia nodded, shrugging out of her trench coat and rolling up the right sleeve of her blouse. “Thank you”, he said as he came to her, applying a tourniquet and beginning to disinfect the crook of her arm.

Julia raised a brow. “Can leeches even get sick?”, she enquired, “I mean, besides some supernatural blood taint?”

Jonathan smiled sheepishly. “No, I don’t think so. But then, old habits die hard and I just prefer to do this properly”, he answered. “This might sting a little bit…”, he warned her, before injecting the liquid into her vein. Julia didn’t feel much, at first, before there was suddenly an echo of the delight she knew from her feedings. Jonathan had already removed the syringe, pressing the cotton ball on the wound. “Please hold this until the wound is closed”, he advised her whilst removing the tourniquet, moving to clean the syringe afterwards.

“That’s it? That’s the cure?”, Julia asked him.

The doctor glanced back at her. “Yes. That’s it”.

“I don’t feel changed…”

“That’s because you were not infected, Ms Leigh. This is for prevention. If you would feel changed, there would be something amiss”, Jonathan answered.

“Huh”, Julia said, removing the cotton ball as the wound had already healed over.

“Give this to me, please”, Jonathan said. “I won’t take any chances with ekon blood”. He put the small ball into a bowl, burning it right after. “So, I will see you tomorrow?”, he enquired as the ball was burnt down completely.

“Aye. I will be there”, Julia answered, having put on her coat again and already heading for the balcony door.

“Have a good day then. Take care and don’t get yourself killed”.

Julia narrowed her eyes. “I can handle myself, Dr Reid. I’d say you’re the one who should be careful. You were the one visited by Priwen’s leader, after all”. Jonathan only smirked at that, waving his goodbye as she vanished through the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since it's still weekend and I'm not overly busy, I'll probably do another update this evening ;).


	9. A Vampire Doctor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is again a slower one, I'm afraid - it is needed, though, and I promise again more action in the next one. I've also sneaked in two hints of things going on in the background both Julia and Jonathan are not aware of - both hints are very subtle, tough (especially the second one), but maybe you still find one of them.

It was a clear night, for once, when Julia headed to the Pembroke hospital for her second meeting with the doctor. The way from the empty house she had slept in to the hospital was fairly quiet, giving Julia enough time to muse about last night’s conversation, something she had done for hours now. _I’m still not sure if meeting that leech doctor again really is a good idea._ She wasn’t that much afraid of him leading her into a trap anymore as she didn’t think a leech reeking of such a strength as the doctor did would have a need for that. But somehow, Julia had the feeling that it weren’t Reid’s fighting abilities she should be careful of.

_All that talking, getting sentimental about his sister and such – what if it’s a ruse? Maybe he just tried to lull me with all the chitchat. I shouldn’t get too comfortable around that leech, even if he’s sincere right now. Would make putting him down when he snaps only worse. Hell, I don’t even know if he’s not feeding on some poor patient right now – being a doctor who can write certificates of death surely comes in handy for a leech, so how could I even tell? Or… could I? With my blood sense maybe? I’ve never tried to see how much they fed, was too busy with killing them off… I should try this._ She was pulled from her thoughts when arriving at the Pembroke. Julia could see the leech doctor’s silhouette moving behind the balcony door, but before she could even get up on the balcony, the door opened as the ekon stepped outside and jumped next to her on the ground.

“Good evening, Ms Leigh. I hope you didn’t run into any trouble on your way here?”, he greeted her politely.

Julia just glared at him, before finally responding. “No, I didn’t. It was fairly quiet to be honest. So, where are we heading, leech?”

The doctor sighed. “And back we are at the name calling. We were doing so well yesterday… I thought we’d start in Whitechapel, as there was a high Priwen activity at the docks two days ago and I’d rather avoid them for time being. Apparently”, he continued, assessing Julia whilst starting to walk, “they were searching for a foreign ekon with brown hair in a trench coat. You wouldn’t happen to know one?”, he asked innocently.

Julia huffed at that. “Very funny, leech. I told you I had an encounter with the guard in your lair. Could be that McCullum is somewhat pissed off with me”.

Dr Reid raised an eyebrow. “You won’t tell me what exactly happened between you two, will you?”

“I don’t think you need to know that, leech. And what’s the point of your questions, anyway?”, Julia asked, annoyed and determined to stick to her decision.

“The walk to Whitechapel will take some time and I thought we could fill it with conversation. That’s what people normally do, Ms Leigh”, the doctor replied, sounding somewhat amused.

Julia snorted angrily. “Well, cut it, leech. We’re monsters, not ‘people’ and I’m not here for idle conversation”.

“What a pity, I did enjoy the one we had yesterday. Also, I can’t see why being ekons would stop us from talking to each other”, Jonathan answered. Julia grumbled something unintelligible, giving her conversation partner a hard stare whilst drawing on her senses. They immediately warned her of his strength, leading her hackles to raise. Despite that, something about him was off, in a way. She couldn’t put a finger on it, it almost seemed as if he was… exhausted. Julia was just trying to figure out what was causing this as the doctor interrupted her thoughts. “Do I have something on my nose?”

“What?”, Julia asked, confused.

“You are staring at me for some time now. So, I was wondering for the reason.”, Dr Reid answered, studying her.

Julia scowled. “I didn’t even look at your face. And I dunno… could it be… are you thirsty?”, she finally asked.

The doctor raised his eyebrows, assessing her thoroughly before giving an answer. “Not more than usually, Ms Leigh. I usually keep it at bay with… rodents. Famishing myself too much is not a good idea, considering my profession”.

Julia made a face at that, remembering the bad taste from her feedings on rats. The next few minutes went by in a tense silence, Jonathan decidedly taking the way over the cemetery as it was easier to avoid Priwen patrols there. The graveyard was completely silent, and Jonathan, who had expected to hear at least the screeches of some skals, turned around to his company. “Did you hunt here tonight?”, he enquired.

Julia frowned at that. “No. But I did so last night before we met. Maybe there just haven’t turned up new ghouls since then…”, she answered, eyeing her surroundings carefully.

The doctor also frowned. “Maybe…”, he finally said, pondering about possible alternate reasons for the peace. _Maybe the vampire epidemic is breaking_. His frown deepened. _But I would’ve expected it to take longer, the incubation period might be fast in most cases and Priwen surely is effective in its hunt, but I would still expect new cases of infection…_ Their way remained quiet even in the worst parts of Whitechapel, however.

“That’s weird”, Ms Leigh said as they were half-way through the worst part of the district. “It’s never been so quiet here, there were always ghouls around…”, she mused, furrowing her brow.

Jonathan frowned, too. He couldn’t sense even one undead besides his company, even if he reached out with his senses as far as he could. “I agree”, he answered, just as he felt a… presence behind them. He whirled around, assessing his surroundings but finding nothing.

“What is it?”, the other ekon asked, eyeing her surroundings suspiciously.

“I think I just felt somebody… possibly an ekon but I’m not sure”, Jonathan answered her in a low voice. He couldn’t see anybody, though, a finding that was confirmed by Julia a short moment later.

“I don’t see anything”, she said, her frown having deepened. “Are you sure?”

“No…”, the doctor answered.

They spent the rest of their walk quietly, senses on high alert, but none of them could make out anybody besides the mortals in their houses. Jonathan only relaxed somewhat when arriving at the more lively parts of Whitechapel, heading to the flower shop first. His company stood mostly silently by as he went to one citizen after another, exchanging a few words with every one of them and occasionally handing out medicine. The people didn’t comment on Julia’s presence, even if a few of them eyed her curiously. After Jonathan had handed out a treatment against headache to Mr Lewis, Julia broke the silence between them.

“How did you know what he needed?”, she asked. “I mean, you didn’t even examine him”.

The doctor smiled at her question. “Well, that would be one of the advantages of my condition, Ms Leigh. You might have noticed that our senses not only tell us if there is blood around, but also some little things about its quality. This helps a great deal with the diagnosis”.

Julia’s eyes widened at that. “I didn’t even consider this… I bet that’s handy”, she replied.

“Quite”, Jonathan smiled warmly.

They fell again in silence after that, but this time it was a more comfortable one. This changed shortly after, however, when Jonathan refused to take Julia with him into the dispensary. He was quite sure that Dorothy would be far from thrilled if he brought in company without a very good reason and he also didn’t trust the young ekon’s self-control enough to have her around bleeding patients. Julia on the other hand didn’t trust him to be around any humans and seemed to think he wanted to use this as a pretence to get rid of her and feed. She calmed somewhat down when he suggested her to stay just outside the building whilst observing him with her senses, however. He needed quite some time in the dispensary, as Dorothy had run out of some medicines during his absence and was still having trouble with some of the more complicated recipes. Also, some of her patients needed additional care. Therefore, it was already getting late when Jonathan left the building, Julia waiting for him outside impatiently.

The walk back to the hospital was again a silent one, not even interrupted by any ghoul activity, since they went over Stonebridge cemetery again. The doctor left Julia at the balcony, agreeing to meet with her again at the next day at the same time. Julia didn’t leave after they bid their farewell, however, but headed around the building to the scaffold at the north-west side of the hospital, using it to access the hospital’s roof easily. Narrowing her eyes, Julia tried to focus her senses completely on the doctor below her, observing his movements for any signs of feeding on somebody. A task that turned out to be far from easy, as the doctor moved a lot through the building, whilst the blood of the humans inside kept distracting her and the long distances due to the hospital’s size made matters only worse. As Julia finally stopped with her observation not long before sunrise, she felt exhausted and very thirsty. Not daring to encounter anybody in her state, she shadow-jumped directly from the roof towards the canal and from there to the other bank where she fed on some rats. She could already feel the sun rising when she finally arrived at the house she had also used as a hideout the day before. Without hesitation, Julia went for the narrow bed, almost asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.

* * *

Julia still felt hungry as she woke up again, and the fact that her sleep had been far from comfortable in the hard, narrow bed with her clothes still on helped little to increase her mood. At least the house still had some running water, even though it smelled funny due to the old plumbing. Julia crinkled her nose as she opened her suitcase, finding most of her clothes being dirty. _I should’ve brought some of them to the laundry already. Running about and fighting on the streets surely doesn’t help keeping one’s clothes clean and I’m looking suspicious enough without my clothes being blood stained._ Sighing, she changed her attire where it was needed, putting on her only remaining clean blouse. Shutting her suitcase afterwards, she moved out with her luggage in search for another hideout. Finding a new house turned out to be even harder than thought, however, as there seemed to be more Priwen guards around than the night before, systematically searching all empty houses. In the end, Julia ended up in a house nearby the cemetery, hurriedly making her way to the hospital after hiding her things since she was already running late. The doctor didn’t seem to mind much, though, pointing out that he’d been busy just until now anyway.

They headed again to Whitechapel, as Dr Reid wanted to see how his patients from the day before were doing. Their walk over the cemetery was undisturbed, again, Julia having cleansed the place from the three new ghouls that had turned up on her way from her hideout to the hospital. The first part of the way went by quietly, as both of them where lost in their own thoughts. “So… why are you doing this?”, Julia asked after a while.

Jonathan raised his brows as he looked at her. “I’m afraid you’ll have to specify your question in order for me to answer. What exactly do you mean by ‘this’? Walking over the cemetery? Having you accompany me?”

“No, I mean providing medicine to the poor”, Julia answered, rolling her eyes.

“I told you, Ms Leigh, I’m a doctor. Healing the sick is my profession”.

“The doctors I know don’t run about in the city at night-time and hand out medicine for free, so stop shitting me”, Julia responded, sounding annoyed.

The doctor sighed. “You are right. But I had to ‘run about in the city’, as you put it, a lot when investigating the skal epidemic, and when I saw the dire circumstances the districts were in, I’ve decided to help where I can. It proved to be a good idea, so the hospital’s administrator and I have decided to keep it up”.

Julia frowned at that. “I’m not sure if I believe you. This has to cost a fortune! Medicine is expensive, especially with that epidemic and the war…”, she exclaimed.

Jonathan smiled tightly. “Yes, medical supplies are scarce, Ms Leigh, which makes this work all the more important. But it is not as expensive as it seems, if you know what you are doing and have a source for some basic chemical ingredients at hand”.

“Huh”. Using the short silence, Julia drew on her senses, assessing the doctor. After last night’s endeavour, she was much more used to it and saw the exhaustion almost immediately. _I think it has gotten stronger. Maybe it’s really his thirst. I didn’t see him feed yesterday, not even on rats, though he could have used the time in the morning or in the evening when I wasn’t there…_

“May I ask you a question?”, Jonathan enquired after a short time of silence, oblivious of her observations.

“You just did. But, generous leech as I am, I’ll allow you another one. I might not give you an answer, though”, Julia replied with a smirk.

Jonathan arched an eyebrow, surprised about her changed mood, before he went on with a soft voice. “I know this might be intrusive, and you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but… you mentioned that your maker abandoned you, leaving you to wake up on a pile of corpses all alone. I remember my thirst when I woke up and…”

“You want to know who my first victim was”, Julia interrupted him. Jonathan nodded, looking troubled. “It was another leech. He was a newborn, too, turned only two nights before me”. She locked her eyes with Jonathan’s. “He had already murdered six people, Dr Reid. Six people in mere two nights. _This_ , and the other leeches I’ve encountered in Dublin are the reasons I’m hunting our kind”.

Jonathan frowned worriedly at that. “That… is quite a number”.

“Aye, it is”, Julia said curtly.

“And the other ekons you’ve encountered in Dublin were as bad as the first one?”, Jonathan enquired further.

Julia huffed at that. “Even worse. That newborn at least made it quick. Didn’t torture them”.

Jonathan’s frown deepened. “I have met some ekons who were quite vicious, but most seemed to be at least still civil”.

“Maybe they just didn’t show their beastly nature. You can never be sure before draining them, leech”, Julia retorted, glaring at him mockingly, but with an underlying threat.

Jonathan only sighed, annoyed by her demeanour. “So, you gain their memories when you drink their blood? I… when I killed my Mary, I saw her memories, too, and I was wondering if this was always the case…”, he enquired after a short moment.

Julia snorted. “And that lady ghoul told me you’d have ‘insight’”. Sobering, she continued. “But then, I’m for sure not unhappy if you really don’t know somethin’ like this. Maybe you’re not lying, after all… To answer your question: Aye, if I drain a leech, I’ll get its memories. They aren’t complete, however. I haven’t figured out what determines what I get and what not. And, if the leech has lost too much blood before, I won’t get anything…”

“Hm. I wonder what the mechanics of this are”, Jonathan mused, the two of them now almost having arrived at the other end of the cemetery.

Julia arched a brow. “Well, I could drain _you_ , maybe you’ll find out in your last seconds”, she said, only half-joking.

“I would appreciate it if you could stop with the threats, Ms Leigh. They won’t intimidate me, anyway”, Jonathan replied in a sharp tone.

“… Sorry. You’re right, threats won’t help if it comes to the worst. I’ll try to behave. Somewhat”. Jonathan shook his head at that, but before he could reply, a screech interrupted him. Julia tensed beside him, her gaze focusing behind one of the houses. “Ghouls. Four of them”, she said after a short assessment. “Two of them should be distracted, they’re eating. But I think one of the others is alerted”.

Jonathan narrowed his eyes, assessing the situation himself. “Let’s split up. From what I’ve seen two days before I’d guess you’re quite apt with the shadow veil, so I could distract them while you attack from behind”, he suggested after a short moment.

Julia’s lips curled into a crooked grin. “I like that plan. See you later, then”, she answered before vanishing in front of Jonathan’s eyes.

Without losing any time as he wasn’t sure how long Julia was able to remain invisible, he moved around the house whilst drawing his sword. He called the shadows to his aid, creating a void beneath the two skals which were just feeding as the already alerted skal attacked Jonathan immediately. The doctor dodged its attack whilst using his claws to cause a deep wound at the skal’s side. The momentum of its movement carried the skal behind the male ekon. Keeping his senses on high alert to keep a track of the other three beasts, Jonathan whirled around, swinging his sword at his opponent when he suddenly heard a low sound behind him, followed by a small breeze passing his neck.

Julia had moved onto the house as soon as her shadow veil was up, moving silently over the roof towards a good shooting spot. It didn’t take long before Dr Reid rounded the corner, creating a shadow eruption beneath the feet of two ghouls. The explosion caused the creatures to be knocked to the ground, one of them even flying against the house’s wall. _This is definitely much stronger than the stuff Nella did_, Julia thought, whilst freezing the blood of the third ghoul before it could attack the doctor. Latter one was right now occupied with the last of the beasts, having his back to Julia. _This would be the perfect opportunity… but if he really tells the truth – that would be cold-blooded murder! But then he might be lying, and he is too strong for fighting him openly…_ Having decided, Julia aimed her crossbow at her target, letting the bolt come loose.

It was well aimed, hitting the ghoul that attacked Dr Reid right in the face, the bolt passing the doctor’s neck in dangerous proximity since he had suddenly moved. Julia was already reloading her weapon as Jonathan went to the ghoul she had paralyzed before. It had just started moving when the doctor beheaded it. The other two had recovered by now and started to circle around the ekon on the ground. Dr Reid froze one of them as it tried to attack, however, impaling its heart with Dragonbane afterwards. In the meantime, Julia shot the other ghoul in its stomach, causing it to stagger. Using its unbalance, Julia jumped on it, sinking her teeth into the ghoul’s flesh. Before it was drained completely, she retreated despite the ecstasy its blood was giving her and impaled the beast through its heart with her dagger, a move she had trained a lot during the last week. The street was suddenly eerily quiet after the noise their fight had caused, and Julia needed a moment to gather herself before sheathing her dagger and gathering her bolts.

“Thank you for not shooting me”, Dr Reid said behind her as she recovered the second bolt. Turning around, she saw him approaching her, his sword now hidden under his coat again.

“We had a deal, didn’t we, leech?”, Julia replied.

The man smirked at that as he answered. “Yes, we had indeed. But you did consider it, didn’t you?”. His smirk went a little bit wider when he saw Julia’s expression. “I thought so. I had anticipated it”.

“Then why did you do it? It was your idea to split up”, Julia enquired, narrowing her eyes.

Jonathan sobered a little bit as he replied. “Because trust is something mutual, Ms Leigh. If I want you to trust _me_ , I will have to show _you_ some trust myself. And as it seems, trusting you in this fight was no mistake”. Julia frowned at that, and the next few minutes passed by quietly when they moved onwards through Whitechapel district.

They encountered two more groups of skals on their way to the more lively part of Whitechapel, both were put down easily with their combined fighting force. They didn’t talk much on their way, and when, they mostly discussed fighting strategies against the frenzied skals. As they finally arrived at their destination Julia again stood mostly silently by while Jonathan did his work. It didn’t take long this time, however, and after handing out several doses of medicine to a woman called Shiao Shun, Dr Reid finally spoke again.

“I think that should’ve been all in this district, this night”, he said. “I’d suggest we head for the West End. It isn’t far, and I’d like to introduce you to somebody, if you don’t mind”.

Julia arched an eyebrow. “Introduce me to somebody? My, my, Dr Reid, are you a matchmaker now, trying to sway my opinion ‘bout leeches by setting me up with some posh West End leech? I’ll have to disappoint you, then, my aunt already tried that kind of stuff with me and it never worked out”.

Jonathan smirked at that, even though he blushed slightly. “Ah, uhm, no, Ms Leigh. The person I want you to meet is, in fact, a woman and also a human. She is… a good friend of one of the ekons I know, however, and I thought hearing her side of the story might be interesting for you”.

“Oh? That does indeed sound interesting”, Julia answered, having sobered.

* * *

The walk to the West End was indeed a short one, even though they had to detour sometimes in order to avoid Priwen patrols. Once they had arrived in the broad streets of the district, Jonathan headed purposefully towards a tan woman who seemed to be campaigning for women’s rights. “Good evening, Ms Charlotte”, Jonathan greeted her as they approached.

“Good evening, Dr Reid”, the woman answered, smiling warmly whilst assessing Julia curiously. “So, this is the ekon preying on her own kind?”, she asked.

Julia frowned at that, turning to the doctor. “Wait, what did you tell her?”, she enquired harshly.

“Only that your views on our kind match the ones of Priwen. And yes”, Jonathan continued, turning back to Charlotte, “that is her. May I introduce you to Ms Leigh? Ms Leigh, this is Ms Charlotte. You will find her quite knowing about ekons”.

Charlotte gave Julia a nod. “Nice to meet you, Ms Leigh”.

“Hm. The same”, Julia grumbled. “So, you’re the one cuddling with leeches then?”, she continued.

The other woman frowned at that. “I wouldn’t call it cuddling, Ms Leigh. Also, I would appreciate it if you could refer to them as ‘ekons’, leech is such a rude term”.

“Is it now? I find it quite accurate”, Julia sneered.

Jonathan arched an eyebrow. “I see, the two young ladies have much to discuss. I’ll leave you to your conversation, then. I suppose we will meet tomorrow, Ms Leigh?”

“Wait, what!?” Furiously, Julia turned towards him. “That was _not_ the deal, leech! What are you up to?” she enquired in a threatening undertone.

Jonathan only sighed, having expected her vicious reaction. “I have some private matters to take care of, Ms Leigh. Also, I think this conversation will take some time and I simply have too much to do for awaiting its end”.

Julia narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “And how do I know that you’re not just trying to get rid of me, hunting down some poor sod to quench your diabolic thirst?”

“You don’t”, Jonathan answered curtly. “But you’ll never know for _sure_ , Ms Leigh. That’s the thing with trusting people, you don’t have to observe their every movement”. Charlotte wanted to interject but stayed quiet as Jonathan shook his head at her while Julia pondered.

“Fine”, she said angrily after a short while. “We’ll meet tomorrow then. I don’t like it, though”. _If my theory is correct, I’ll see if you’re lying, leech doctor_.

“Then until tomorrow”. With that, Jonathan left, leaving the two women to themselves.

After following the doctor for a while with her gaze until he had vanished around a corner, Julia turned back to Ms Charlotte who was eyeing her cautiously. “You really _are_ rude. He’s very considerate and doesn’t deserve this kind of treatment”, the tan woman stated.

“Am I? I think I’m quite courteous, I haven’t tried to kill him even once. Can’t say that of any other leech I’ve encountered since my turning”, Julia replied.

Charlotte frowned at that. “Why do you hate vampires so much, Ms Leigh? I know of course that there are some which are quite malicious, but there is really no need to hate all of their kind, especially as you are one yourself”.

Julia only snorted, shaking her head. “I guess the main reason is that a not negligible part of me just _craves_ to rip your throat out, Ms Charlotte, and to indulge myself in your blood. And whilst I am able to restrain myself, yet, all vampires I’ve met, besides maybe that doctor leech, didn’t. They’ve even enjoyed being the beasts they were!”

Charlotte assessed her conversation partner curiously. “I see that you had some bad experiences, Ms Leigh, but that doesn’t mean that all ekons are like this! Your gifts can be used for good deeds, you know?”

“My _gifts_!?”, Julia spat. “Is that how your ‘friend’ calls it? Is he showing off, telling you how wonderful his abilities are, and that the thirst is nothing to worry about? Have you ever considered that your ‘friend’ might just be toying around with you, waiting for the right moment to suck you dry?”

Charlotte stirred at that, obviously upset. “Toying with me? Never. My m… friend is the most considerate woman I’ve ever known, much more considerate than most of the people living in this borough and I won’t have you speaking ill of her!”

“’s that so? Or is she just playing some head-games with you, makin’ you believe things? Leeches can do that, you know? Or didn’t your precious ‘friend’ tell you that?” Julia snarled.

“I know very well of the nature and features of vampires”, Charlotte responded. “She told me everything about it. And she’d never risk my mind like that”.

Julia’s eyes widened at that. “What do you mean, ‘risking your mind’?”, she asked, taken aback.

Charlotte stared at her, raising her eyebrows in surprise. “I’m talking about the risks of mesmerism – if the modification is too severe, the vampire is inconsiderate or unpractised and if the victim resists strongly, the process can inflict permanent damage to the regarding person’s mind. Did your maker not tell you of this?”

Julia sighed, her thoughts racing about what she’d just heard. “No. He didn’t. Feckin’ bastard never introduced himself, just left me dying in a stinking back alley”.

Her conversation partner frowned at that. “He abandoned you? Just like Dr Reid was abandoned? Do you think you have the same maker?”

Julia shook her head. “No. First of all, he was only turned a few days after me and I was in Dublin when it happened while he was in London. Also, he said that the few things I _do_ know about that little wanker who turned me into _this_ don’t fit with what he knows ‘bout his maker. But back to your friend”, Julia continued, assessing Charlotte with a hard glare. “Doesn’t it even bother you slightly to hang around with a murderer? ‘Cause she most certainly is”.

Charlotte shook her head. “She only feeds from the terminally ill, Ms Leigh. Also, she has funded and is financing several charitable establishments like the Pembroke hospital and an orphanage here in the West End, something she wouldn’t have been able to if not for her long life span!”

Julia snorted at that. “’f course she tells you that she’s only feeding of the dying, but have you ever considered that her ‘charity’ stems from a bad conscience?”

“Which implies that she _has_ a conscience, Ms Leigh. I don’t know which kind of vampires you have encountered to have such a bad impression of them, but I believe that the advantages are exceeding the drawbacks – just think about what you can achieve with immortality!”

Julia flinched as the realization dawned on her. “Wait… you… want to become a leech, too, don’t you?”, she asked, appalled.

Charlotte sniffed at that, straightening herself up. “To make a change in this world, one needs time at one’s side, Ms Leigh. And I will change this world, make it a better place”.

Julia stared at her disbelievingly. “You really think that you’ll still be able to do that kind of stuff when there’s a beast raging in your head, wanting nothin’ else than blood? You really don’t know what you’re getting yourself into – ah. I see. So that’s what your friend is aiming at, isn’t it? A new leech to accompany her at her nefarious activities?”

Charlotte glared at her. “No. She doesn’t. She refused to turn me, if you must know, regardless what I’ve tried. She said that she wanted me to stay full of joy instead of becoming a depressed immortal, but I don’t think there’s only one way to deal with eternity”.

Julia shook her head. “I really hate saying this, but your leech friend is doing the right thing. Your plan‘s a fool’s errand, Ms Charlotte. Might be that we leeches have a lot of time, but this time is filled with violence and blood. Even if your friend manages to lead a somewhat normal life, she’ll never have peace from the thirst. She’ll always have to restrict herself, fighting the urge to hurt the people around her. The same would apply to you. I don’t know if ‘depressive’ is the right way to put it, but being what we are makes things definitely worse, not better”.

The other woman stared at her, a short silence falling between then. “Let’s agree to disagree”, Charlotte finally said.

Julia twitched her mouth before replying. “I see that discussing this further won’t help. But back to your friend – she feeds only on the ‘terminally ill’, then? And she never… slips? How long has she been going on like this?”

Charlotte’s expression softened somewhat as she answered. “No, she doesn’t ‘slip’. And I really don’t know how long she is dealing with her hunger like this, I’ve never seen her handling it in any other way”.

Julia raised her eyebrows. “Huh. Oddly enough, I believe you, ‘s least as far as I think you really believe what you’re saying”.

“How very kind of you”, Charlotte retorted sarcastically. “But now I am curious. What have the other vampires done that you have such a mistrust against all of your kind?”

Julia grimaced. “Normally, I’d tell you to feck off, asking you if the murder we’re compelled to commit is not enough. But, considering your views…” She narrowed her eyes. “Did you know that if a leech feeds, it’ll get the memories of its victims? And _I_ ’ve got the memories of some of the leeches I’ve drained. They…” Julia shook her head. “There was no humanity left in them. They took pleasure in bloodbath and torture. _All of them_ were like this, Ms Charlotte. Dr Reid was the first one who wasn’t a complete savage. Well, and maybe that ghoul lady, though these ghouls seem to be another thing entirely”.

Charlotte furled her eyebrows, considering. “I… see. How many did you encounter?”

“Huh. Not counting the ghouls and Dr Reid… nine, I think. Well, and my maker, obviously”. They went silent after that, each woman caught in her own thoughts. “I must admit that whoever your friend is, she’s either a hell of an actor and did a thorough thing with bewitching your mind or she might be somewhat… decent”, Julia finally admitted.

Charlotte’s lips twitched. “She is, and much more than ‘somewhat’ – as is Dr Reid. Not everybody would risk his life to sway the opinion of somebody as vicious as you are”.

Julia arched an eyebrow. “Maybe. Maybe not. I’ll see, I guess”.

Charlotte cocked her head. “And what if you see that he’s indeed decent? And my… friend? Will you still hunt them? Will you hurt them?”

“… No. Not if they don’t murder people”, Julia answered after a short moment of silence.

“I am relieved to hear that, Ms Leigh. For a moment, I really thought you were like the Priwen hunters”.

Julia furrowed her brow. “I don’t see why that’d be a bad thing. They’re saving human lives with putting beasts down”.

Charlotte sighed. “That might be true, but they are hunting all ekons, regardless their intentions. And I can’t see killing someone like my friend or Dr Reid as anything else than cold-blooded murder”.

The ekon pondered at that. “You… have a point. Still, we _are_ dangerous beasts. I don’t know if this danger should be taken”.

“Life is dangerous, Ms Leigh. And killing someone only because he _is what he is_ is incredibly wrong”. They went quiet again and, after a while, Charlotte began to gather the pamphlets she had lying around. “It was an interesting conversation and I will think about some things you have told me, but I’m afraid I’ll have to go home now. I am still a human and I need some sleep”.

“Aye, it was indeed”, Julia nodded. “I could help you with that pamphlets, if you want, they seem to be quite a lot”.

Charlotte smiled warmly at that. “Yes, sure. You wouldn’t be interested in helping us with our cause, would you?”

“You’d really want a feckin’ leech on your meetings?”, Julia asked, disbelieving. When Charlotte gave her only an amused look, she reconsidered, but finally shook her head. “Not right now, I’m afraid. Don’t get me wrong, I agree with most of your goals, I even took part in some suffragette actions back in Dublin though it wasn’t that often… But right now – even if you’re not concerned with your safety, I am. Also, I’m still trying to figure things out and the hunting takes a lot of time”.

“I completely understand. Maybe later, then. You have a lot of time, after all”, Charlotte nodded her appreciation, her voice a little bit envious at the last sentence.

Julia accompanied Charlotte on her way home, the two of them chatting about more mundane things, like how Charlotte’s campaigning was going (apparently, one of the families in the West End was claiming their daughter had gone mad due to her suffragette activities) and some rumours going around in the borough. As they were bidding their farewell, Julia found that she had actually enjoyed the conversation. It was nice to talk with somebody while she didn’t have to be wary all the time, either because she was suspecting an attack or because she had to hide her true nature. She had just started walking in the direction of the docks, reckoning she might have a look if they were still crawling with Priwen patrols and replenishing her bolt stock if not, as the sound of a voice made her stop.


	10. Unexpected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's a holiday in my country, so guess what? Right, there's going to be a double update again :) I will have to move back to the previous schedule tomorrow, though.

“… eternal life, eternal life through the blood of lesser beasts”, somebody whispered.

 _A leech?_ , Julia thought. But her senses did not show her any leech nearby, only a woman down at a courtyard crouching over something. Curious, Julia drew nearer. The woman looked ragged, and after a moment, Julia realised that she was clutching a dead rat in her hands.

“So juicy… so tasty… you make me sick!”, the woman ranted, oblivious of her observer.

 _What the…_ Then, suddenly, the woman bit down, drinking the rat’s blood. _What is she doing?_ , Julia thought, appalled. This woman was definitely a human, so why should she drink the blood of dead rats? Furrowing her brow in thought, Julia stepped closer.

**_Stop! Do not approach this woman or it may cost your life._ **

“You again!? And why, exactly, do you think I’d follow any of _your_ commands, you bastard!? Come out and stop me!”, Julia spat, now heading even more determinedly for the stairs that led down to the courtyard where the woman was still busy with the rat.

**_I don’t expect you to follow my orders, you are not my subordinate. I will warn you of danger ahead, however, as I do not wish you to be harmed. You would do well to heed my warnings, but I will not force you._ **

“What, now you’re suddenly concerned with my safety? If you care so much about me, why did you abandon me, then? Why did you _feckin’ kill me_ in that stinky back alley instead of letting me live my life!?” Julia scolded, her voice cracking.

**_I may answer some of your questions if you would step back from this place. It would be for the better if this woman was not aware of your existence._ **

“Fine. I’ll step back as soon as you tell me why she shouldn’t see me. I won’t just do things cause a feckin’ voice inside my head tells me so”.

 ** _Very well_** , the voice responded, sounding amused. **_Right now, this woman is a pawn in the game of a powerful immortal. You will not be able to break the control he has over her, young as you are, and any endeavour to do so would gain you unwanted attention._**

“You really think I can’t take a bloody leech? I’ve done it before and if he forces her…”

**_You would fail, Childe. This is a powerful foe and fighting him will need resources and preparation you have not at hand right now. But I have complied to your request, now it is at you to fulfil your part of the bargain. Also, you do not have to speak aloud to me, as I am able to hear your thoughts if I wish so._ **

_Wait, you didn’t only fecking turn me, you’re also stalking my inner thoughts!?_ , Julia thought, aghast, as she retreated.

**_Occasionally. It is extremely exhausting to do so for a longer period of time and I prefer to grant you as much privacy as I am able to, so you do not need to worry._ **

_Yeah, sure… Now I don’t have only to worry about my hunger anymore but also about a fecking leech stalker inside my head. That’s just great._

**_I am sorry._ **

_Don’t waste your breath leech. You’ve promised me some answers. Like why you turned me into a monstrosity. Or why you just left me in that bloody alley!_

**_I did what was needed, Childe. At some times, the only way to extinguish a fire is to start another one. I cannot explain all the reasons I had for my decisions to you right now but rest assured that they were well-considered. Furthermore, I might not have revealed myself to you, but I did NOT abandon you, Childe._ **

Julia snorted. _‘f course, you’re the most caring leech that exists. One of these days, I’ll burn you out from whichever hole you’re hiding in and then I’ll have your head for what you’ve done to me._

 ** _I’d recommend hard training and gathering resources as well as allies, then, as I am quite a formidable foe_** , the voice commented dryly, before it went quiet.

 _Yeah, sure. Hey, you didn’t even tell me your name!_ The voice didn’t react, and cursing furiously under her breath, Julia started to walk again, almost bumping into a man as she went back to the place where she had spoken with Charlotte.

“Be careful!”

Startled, Julia stepped back, gulping as the sweet scent of the man’s blood hit her. _I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t keep any track of my surroundings. Stupid, Julia!_ , she scolded herself. “I’m sorry, I… was distracted”, she apologized to the brown-haired man in the brown suite.

“No harm done”, the man answered, eyeing her now with suspicion. Narrowing his eyes, he went on. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in this borough, Miss. What are you doing here, in the dead of the night?”

“I don’t know why you’d care, but I was meeting with an acquaintance of mine, Charlotte”, Julia answered, surprised by his enquiry. Curious, she assessed the man now in more detail. He was in his mid-thirties and had a scar on his left cheek. His heartrate told Julia that he was nervous. Also, something with his blood seemed to be amiss. It was a subtle thing, but definitely there. _Maybe I should tell Dr Reid that here’s someone who needs his medical attention. Wait… did I just think about sending a LEECH doctor to this man? Oh, my… _

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to sound nosy, but they are everywhere… You haven’t seen anything suspicious lately?”, the man in front of her continued, pulling Julia from her thoughts.

 _Suspicious? Everything of my last weeks was filled with ‘suspicious’_ , Julia thought with a mixture of sadness and amusement as she answered. “Suspicious? Well, I’d guess that depends on what you’re finding suspicious. But whom do you mean with ‘them’, Mr… ?”, Julia enquired.

“I’m Clarence Crossley. And I’m talking about the devils walking unrecognized amongst us, hungry for our soul, I’m talking about vampires!”

 _Wait… WHAT?_ “Vampires? Are you… are you serious?”, Julia asked, disbelievingly.

“I’m not mad, madam. They’re all around us, even in this very moment! I’ve seen them, and they’re here, too!”, the man exclaimed, waving his hands and obviously desperate.

“Please, calm down, Mr Crossley. I… I do believe you. One could say that I was just surprised – I don’t know of many who are even aware of the existence of these creatures”, Julia told him in a reassuring voice. _He didn’t recognize me as one of them. So, he’s probably not with Priwen. I wonder what he knows._

Mr Crossley’s eyes widened in surprise, his voice being slightly high-pitched as he responded. “You do? You really believe me? You… have you seen one, too?”

Gnawing her lip, Julia pondered on what she could reveal.  “Aye. I have. I’ve… I’ve even fought them”, she finally answered, brushing aside her coat to reveal her crossbow. “My name is Julia Leigh, by the way”.

“You fought them and survived!? How?”

Julia furrowed her brow. “I guess I was mostly lucky, I’ve surprised the beasts. They’re feckin’ fast. And strong. I’d definitely advise against engaging into close combat with them. But I’m curious – how do you know about this menace?”

“I’ve seen… one of them, in France. And when I came back home, thinking I’ve escaped the war’s horrors, I found them here, too!”, Mr Crossley explained frantically. “I’m trying to warn everybody about them, but nobody believes me, everyone thinks I’m mad, even my own wife”.

Julia nodded, giving the man a compassionate look. “That must be hard… I don’t know if you’ve heard about them, but you’re not alone. There are… hunters. Vampire hunters, that is. They call themselves Guard of Priwen and they’re all around the city”.

“I’ve heard of them”, Clarence stated excitedly. “They’re one of the names that always pop up when you search long enough about these devils. But I didn’t speak with any of them, yet. It is almost impossible to leave the West End what with the quarantine. Are you… Are you one of them?”

Julia smiled sadly at that. “No, I can’t say I am. I doubt they’d take me, as one could say that I had a… misunderstanding with their leader, Geoffrey McCullum. But you just mentioned that the guard is ‘one of the names’ popping up? So, there are others?”, she enquired.

“Yes. If you only dig long enough, you will realise that there are others that know of these creatures – hunters like the guard of Priwen and Ichabod Throgmorton, but also groups that are allies to them, like the Brotherhood of Saint Paul’s Stole, not to speak of their own machinations to control our country!”

“Machinations to control our country? Are you sure about that?”

“I know it is hard to believe, Ms Leigh, but I speak the truth! They have a secret society, aiming to destroy this land!”

Julia furrowed her brow sceptically. “You don’t happen to know the name of that society, would you?”, she enquired.

The man fidgeted at that. “I actually do, yes!”, he finally whispered in a low voice. “They call themselves the ‘Ascalon club’, its leader going by the name ‘Lord Redgrave’”.

Julia raised her brows. “Ascalon? Are you sure?”, she enquired, surprised.

Mr Crossley narrowed his eyes. “Yes. You sound like you know the name”.

“I do. A leech I’ve killed… he mentioned that I’d interfere with Ascalon business. I reckoned that he was talking ‘bout himself, but now…”

Clarence eyes widened. “You killed one of them? Do you know its name? Something about its plans?”, he asked her excitedly.

Julia shook her head. “No, I’m afraid I don’t. I normally don’t engage in conversation when I kill them, you know? All I know is that the leech was just in conversation with some brown-haired man as I attacked, who ran away when the fight started”.

“Too sad, but I understand. You could help me, anyway. I’ve been collecting information on these devils for months now, got even a friend to help me, but it is hard to separate the myths from the facts. And you seem to know a little something about them, so if we could swap our information…”

Julia’s face lightened up. “Gladly! One could say that I indeed know ‘a little something’ about vampires, but my information ‘s far from complete, so I’d be happy about anything you could tell me! But first, I can tell you what I know, I guess that’d make things easier. So, what is it you want to know?”

Clarence smiled at her, taking a notebook alongside with a pencil from the pocket of his jacket. “Everything, Ms Leigh, everything. Then I can compare it with the information I already have”.

Julia’s brows went up. “Everything? My, that could take some time… Okay, where to start… Maybe… did you know that there are different kinds of vampires?”

The man nodded. “Yes, I know. I know of ekons, skals, vulkods and something called an ‘ichor’”.

“Huh, the vulkods and the ichor are new to me. What do you know about them?”

“Not much, I am afraid. The vulkods were referred to as a subspecies of skals in one of my sources and they seem to be reminiscent of werewolves. It is even mentioned that they can shapeshift! The ichor… I have only one source on that. It says that Ichors spread diseases, spoil water tanks, that kind of thing”.

Julia furrowed her brow. _That ‘ichor’ sounds a little bit like what Dr Reid told me. And I have always wondered what that beast was I’ve encountered under that bridge… seems I know it now._ “I don’t think that I’ve ever encountered a leech that was able to shapeshift, I don’t really think that this part is true. But then, most of my information is about ekons, anyway”.

“So, what do you know about them?”

They spent the half hour with sharing their information, Julia giving Clarence some insight about the fighting abilities of leeches as well as a severely trimmed-down view on the vampire’s thirst. Clarence on the other hand was able to tell her some interesting things about the Ascalon club as well as about the Brotherhood of Saint Paul’s Stole. They finally parted ways, then, Clarence happily heading home while Julia went to the docks.

As the Priwen activity there had indeed gone down, Julia was able to replenish her bolts from a quite curious Ms Cox, since, apparently, she had been asked about Julia by some of Priwen’s men. _Who’d have thought that one day I’d be happy about the fact this woman thinks of Priwen as a rivalling gang?_ , Julia pondered amusedly. The rest of the night went by quietly, Julia stopping by at the Turquoise Turtle for new water bottles and a small chat with the barkeep, followed by a smoothly going hunt for some rogue skals.

* * *

In the next evening, however, Julia was awakened abruptly by the sound of somebody kicking the door of her hideout in. Her vampiric senses showed her the outline of four men, all of them seemingly carrying weapons. _Priwen!_ , Julia thought, alarmed, and gathered hastily her belongings. She was just heading for the window as the first of the men barged in. “I found one!”, he exclaimed, whilst shooting at Julia.

Cursing furiously as the shot hit her into her side, Julia jumped through the window, not bothering with opening it before since she knew that the cuts and bruises from the jump would heal much easier than bullet wounds. She could hear the men behind her, a shot only just missing her head. She spent the next 15 minutes with running from various Priwen patrols, as the commotion had caught the attention of another patrol who called in reinforcements. Finally, she was able to outpace them, her shadow veil proving incredibly useful once more. Groaning, Julia leaned against the wall of a house. One of her pursuers had hit her again, this time in her right thigh. Other than the first hit, the bullet had stuck in her flesh, hurting her with every move she made and impeding her healing. After some minutes fumbling around and cursing violently on the pain, Julia gave up on removing it on her own.

 _No chance. I lack the skill as well as the right tools for that. And the pain makes it only harder. I need help._ Cautiously, since every step was hurting, Julia limped towards Pembroke, carefully avoiding any signs of life on her way. Luckily, she could see the doctor’s silhouette moving around in his office, despite her being early for their meeting. Gritting her teeth, Julia jumped onto the balcony, landing ungraciously as she tried to support most of her weight with only one leg when she landed.

Jonathan felt exhausted. Since he spent all of his nights either together with Ms Leigh treating the citizens of various districts or in the hospital on his shifts, he had dedicated half of his days for his research, fighting against the drowsiness the daylight brought – he had not only to find a cure for Elisabeth as fast as possible, after all, but also to provide something of a research for Dr Ackroyd. Luckily, he had gathered some material on the Spanish flu during his research on the skal epidemic, but it still needed a lot of work before being presentable. The fact that he had to look after his mother and to check on Clarence and his malevolent wife Venus didn’t help at all. So, it was not so much of a surprise that he thought the noise coming suddenly from the balcony was just conjured up by his tired mind. As a harsh knock came from the balcony door, Jonathan finally looked up from his almost finished first report to Dr Ackroyd, finding the outline of Ms Leigh hovering behind the door. _She’s quite early_ , he thought, frowning. Sighing, he moved to the door in order to let her in.

She almost fell onto the ground as he opened the door, as she obviously had been leaning against it before. Startled, Jonathan steadied her in his arms, assessing her with a quick gaze. She was in quite a state. Her clothes were dirty and untidy, and he could see dried blood on her coat and her blouse. The smell of fresh blood coming in with her together with the pained expression on her face told him she was hurt. “Ms Leigh! What happened to you? Are you alright?”, Jonathan asked her worriedly.

“Yeah, sure, I’m fine”, Julia growled through gritted teeth. “Only have a feckin’ bullet in my thigh. A fine doctor you are”.

“Here, lie down”, Jonathan said whilst helping her to the bed. “Let’s see…”, he said, gathering some forceps alongside with some medical alcohol and gauze. “You tried to remove it yourself, didn’t you?”, he asked her as he assessed the wound, Julia lying on her belly.

“Aye”, Julia groaned. “Didn’t do any good, though”.

The doctor nodded. “It is sitting much too deep for that, I am afraid. Your efforts made matters only worse”.

“Well, thank you”, she replied sarcastically.

Jonathan arched a brow. “I’m merely telling you the facts, Ms Leigh. Next time come to me right away or at least use forceps”.

Julia groaned at that. “I’ll heed your advice, _doctor,_ if I find any forceps lyin’ around on the street. Now, could you _please_ remove that bullet?”

“Of course. We’ll have to get rid of these trousers, first, I’m afraid. I can’t work properly with them interfering”. Without long hesitation, Julia opened her trousers and shoved them down to her knees, gritting her teeth and groaning as the rough fabric rubbed over the wound. “So, what happened?”, Jonathan enquired whilst cautiously working on her thigh. The bullet was indeed buried quite deeply, having wounded the bone and sitting partly within it. _It hasn’t splintered, and the fracture seems to be minimal. She is lucky, even though this has to hurt a lot. Or, maybe it is the vampiric healing working here already…_

“Priwen bailed into my hideout just as I woke up”, Julia answered with a pained voice, sometimes taking a sharp breath as Jonathan moved the bullet inside her. “I managed to grab my things, but they saw me an’ chased me for quite some time. One of them managed to hit me as I was running away from them”.

Jonathan furrowed his brow. “Priwen knows of your sleeping place? Did somebody tell them of you? The owner of the room, perhaps?”

Julia gave him a funny look. “’The owner of the room’?”, she asked, her voice amused. “I don’t know if that room even has an owner, Dr Reid. That’s somethin’ abandoned buildings partake of”.

The male ekon’s frown deepened at that, while he dressed the wound since he had removed the bullet. “Wait, are you just telling me you’re sleeping rough?”, he enquired.

The woman sighed, annoyed. “Well, I _used_ _to_ have rented a room at the Turquoise Turtle, but after my encounter with McCullum I reckoned it’d be better to leave. I’ve been changing locations every night, since then. I’ll just find somethin’ else for tomorrow, I guess”.

Jonathan kept on frowning, discarding the bullet. “I think you can redress now, Ms Leigh. Normally, I’d at least put stitches in a wound like that, but with your enhanced healing I assume that would be wasted effort. Do me a favour and rest that leg for a while, however”, he replied, somewhat lost in thought.

“Thank you”, Julia replied after fastening her trousers’ belt again and moving the pillow under her belly so she could prop up her head more comfortably whilst keeping on her belly. “I feel better already. Sorry I was so rude when I came in”.

Jonathan arched an eyebrow, surprised by her friendliness and busying himself with sorting through some of his research papers. “You were in pain, after all. And it is not like I’d expect any other behaviour from you, Ms Leigh”.

Julia sighed sheepishly. “Yeah, I guess that’s true. Everything’s so fucked up, right now…”, she mused.

The doctor smiled weakly at that. “I know the feeling. How did your conversation with Ms Charlotte go, by the way?”

“Her last name’s Ashbury, I saw it on the mailbox of her house. And you two keeping it from me tells me that you wanted to keep it a secret for some reason. That Charlotte, she’s not just a friend of that leech, is she? She’s family”, Julia stated.

Jonathan sighed. “I see there’s no point denying it. Yes, she is. She was adopted by my dear friend from an orphanage the Lady had founded. But you didn’t answer my question”.

“Huh”, Julia huffed, thinking about the new piece of information. “It went fine, I think”, she finally answered. “It was kinda nice to have a normal conversation for a change, to be honest. Even though I really don’t agree with some of her thoughts. Did you know she wants to become a leech?”, Julia asked, somewhat wrought-up.

Jonathan sighed again. “Yes, I know. I’ve tried to talk her out of it, as well as her mother did, but to no avail”. He smiled sheepishly. “To be honest, I had hoped the conversation with you might get her thinking about her decision”.

The female ekon arched a brow. “Oh? You really are a devious man, Dr Reid. Killing two birds with one stone, aren’t you? Three, even, if I count whatever nefarious business you attended to whilst I was busy with Ms Ashbury”.

“My business yesterday was not even remotely nefarious, Ms Leigh. I just prefer to do some things in privacy”.

“U-huh”, Julia answered, now cautiously fully sitting up as the pain in her thigh had begun to ease with her healing. “What are you doing?”, Julia asked after a while of silence, apparently bored.

“Just going through some research about the epidemic. I told the temporary administrator that I’d performed an epidemiological study on the flu during the last few weeks and he wants to see what I have found so far”, Jonathan stated absentmindedly whilst going through the last few sentences he wrote in the report.

Julia frowned. “I’m disturbing you, coming early and all”.

Jonathan glanced at her. “Actually, I’m not that unhappy about that right now”, he answered her, brushing through his hair. “I was losing focus. That last few sentences I wrote are complete gibberish. Also, I could do with something to bite – if you are feeling well enough, we could do some hunting”, he proposed.

Julia arched a brow. “’Something to bite’? Very funny, leech. But I have to admit that I’m thirsty. That healing comes with a price”. Cautiously, Julia stood up, testing her leg. “Should be fine, if I don’t overdo it”, she stated.

Jonathan smiled weakly, as he saw the still disturbed blood flow in her thigh. “We can take it slowly. I know just the right place… oh, and we should take your luggage with us”, he said, nodding at her suitcase and backpack she had dropped beside the bed when lying down.

Julia furled her eyebrows. “Why?”, she enquired.

Jonathan smiled weakly. “Because I might know a place you could use as a long-term hideout. Oh, don’t give me that look”, he continued as he saw the grim visage his conversation partner made. “Just have a look at it. I must admit, I wouldn’t think this place suitable for a young lady under normal circumstances, but, considering your needs, you might even like it”.

“I don’t need alms, Reid”, Julia muttered darkly.

“And I’m not offering you ones. I’m merely trying to help you out since I have the possibility to do so. I don’t even own the place, even though I am quite sure the owner wouldn’t mind if he was still alive”.

Julia raised her eyebrows. “Now you’ve got me curious. Whose place was it? And how did they die? The flu? Skals?”

“Well, then I’d suggest we go there, and I might even answer your questions, Ms Leigh”.

Julia rolled her eyes. “What is it with you leeches that you always want something back for answering even the simplest questions?”, she muttered under her breath, whilst taking her backpack. Jonathan gave her a curious look, but didn’t enquire as he went for her suitcase, heading for the balcony door afterwards.

* * *

They went towards Stonebridge cemetery, feasting on some rats and avoiding a Priwen patrol on their way. Julia noticed that the exhaustion she had sensed on the doctor before went less evident after their meal, much more like it had been the first evening she had noticed it. _So, it really IS his thirst_ , she thought, whilst cleaning her lips from the last remnants of the rat’s blood, grimacing at the foul taste. Jonathan didn’t head to Whitechapel, however, but headed for the house she had used as a hideout during her first day away from the Turquoise Turtle.“Uhm… I already know that house, Dr Reid… And I don’t think that it’s suitable for a longer stay…”, she stated.

The doctor glanced back at her, amused. “I’m merely using the house for a shortcut, Ms Leigh”.

Curiously, she followed the doctor as he went through the decrepit building, heading for a broken wall and shadow jumping over the canal to the balcony of another house. Julia followed him. She remembered this house, as she had been stopped from further investigation by a combination lock. Jonathan didn’t seem to be concerned by it, however, opening the lock with ease since he seemed to know the correct combination. The door led into a bloodstained room with white tiles and laboratory benches.

“What is this place?”, Julia asked, repelled.

“This”, Jonathan explained, closing the door behind him, “was the laboratory of a scientist belonging to the Brotherhood of the Saint Paul’s Stole. They are an order destined to observe vampiric activity”.

Julia arched an eyebrow. “I’ve heard they’re allies of leeches”, she stated sceptically.

“That would be the view Priwen has on things, Ms Leigh. But even though some of their members have direct contact with our kind and might even support them, they have ways to… deal with more malicious vampires. At least this is what I have heard”.

The woman frowned at that. “That doesn’t explain the bloodstains”, she finally said, pointing towards the ground. “And it also doesn’t explain why the owner is dead, even if I assume searching out leeches as free time activity isn’t exactly a good thing for one’s health”.

“No, it doesn’t”, Jonathan sighed. “The scientist I’ve spoken of was trying to use the regenerative properties of vampire blood to invent a cure for blindness”, he explained.

Julia gave him a wide-eyed look. “That is possible?” Then, she frowned. “But… on whom did he test that!?”, she asked, aghast.

“According to his notes, first on rats and then, finally, on himself, since he was losing his eyesight. Ekon blood wouldn’t work, however, so he tried the dried eye nerve of one of the frenzied skals that had shown up in the city…”

“He got infected”, Julia stated.

Jonathan nodded. “Yes. I’m not sure if it was due to his cure, however, as the captured skal had scratched him. He had already been turned when I found him, and I was forced to put him down. The rooms remain, however, and I thought you might like them since all of the entrances are locked with a combination lock. The rooms up here are of course not suitable, but if you’d follow me downstairs…”, he continued, moving for the door.

They went downstairs, finding two messy rooms, one of them with a fireplace, as well as a bathroom with still working water. A further door led into the cellar, revealing a connection to the sewers through a broken wall. “I know it isn’t ideal”, Jonathan told Julia in an apologetic voice, “but I thought you might find this connection useful. It provides you with the possibility to flee even in daylight and the locked doors should protect you from most harm”.

Julia pondered at that. “It isn’t ideal, that’s true. But, you’re right, I like this connection. As well as the many exit ways. ’s better than the other buildings I s’ppose. Even if it reeks of stale blood”.

The doctor tilted his head. “So, you stay?”, he asked awkwardly.

Julia smirked. “I suppose so. Even though I think I’ll move the bed into another room, one with locks. I’d also rather have a look in that last room we skipped when heading downstairs”.

Jonathan nodded at that. “That’s probably for the best. I have to admit that I also didn’t have a look into that room, yet”, he pointed out. The room revealed to be filled with more laboratory benches, as well as a small cage with skeletons of rats and a much larger one in the centre of the room.

“What on earth was that for!?”, Julia asked, disgusted.

“I suppose that’s where he kept the skal”, Jonathan suggested, following Julia in the room, narrowing his eyes as he had a look on the medical equipment lying around on the benches. Hurriedly, he headed to one of them, retrieving several bottles filled with a red liquid. He pocketed them after a short sniff at their content. “That’s skal blood. I’d better see to its safe-keeping, before somebody finds it”, he stated.

Julia nodded her appreciation, surprised at herself that she didn’t feel the need to doubt his honesty. They spent the next minutes with moving the bed downstairs and cleaning the place a little bit up, making the scent of the rooms much more bearable. Julia’s leg was almost completely healed over by now, the pain almost being gone. They headed out for the docks afterwards, the female ekon leaving her luggage behind in the locked rooms after the doctor had given her the combination for the locks. They chatted about trivial things on their way, occasionally taking down skals or avoiding Priwen patrols. Julia felt increasingly comfortable around the other ekon.

 _So much for my decision. But he seems to be decent, ‘s far as I can tell. And I’m just tired of being on guard all the time._ After some squirming, Julia even told the doctor about her conversation with her maker last night, theorizing about his motives. She found an interested listener in the man who proposed her to do a little research on her maker as soon as he had the time, an offer Julia only took too gladly. The rest of the time with the doctor went by in a similar pattern as the nights before, Jonathan providing medicine to the various citizens of the district whilst Julia silently accompanied him. The silence was a much more comfortable one as in the previous nights, however.

“I wanted to ask you something”, Dr Reid stated, the two of them being back at the hospital early. Julia could tell he was feeling nervous about something, even though he was good at hiding his feelings.

“Well, I’d suggest you go ahead, then”, she answered. “I won’t rip your head off. I don’t think you’d let me and I’m more one for ranged combat, anyway”.

The man gave her a disbelieving look, the corner of his lips twitching, before he sobered. “I am performing some research on an… alternative cure for this skal epidemic, and since you are hunting a lot, I wondered if you could collect me some samples…”

Julia frowned, her gaze turning suspicious. “What for? I thought you already _have_ a cure!? Or what was that stuff you injected me with?”, she enquired sharply.

Jonathan sighed. “What I have is not so much a cure, but more a preventive. It will prevent you from getting sick, and if you’ve contracted the blood of hate before, it _might_ suppress the symptoms. It will not, however, remove the taint from the blood of someone infected. I am trying to find something that does”.

“You’re not doing that without a reason. What aren’t you telling me?” She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “I’ve always assumed that you’ve eliminated the ekon with the tainted blood, but… They’re still alive, aren’t they?”

Jonathan sighed. “Yes. She is. I should’ve known that you’ll catch on it, but still… She was infected a very long time ago, Ms Leigh, and treated with a cure over a hundred years before. She didn’t have symptoms anymore. She didn’t know”.

Julia curled her lips in disgust. “Might be, but that doesn’t eradicate the danger. What if it happens again? We should put her down, eliminate the threat!”

“No!”, Jonathan exclaimed furiously. “You won’t touch her! It is not her fault, and I won’t have a woman as compassionate and delicate as her being harmed because the bad fate of being the healthy carrier of this menace has befallen her! She is a victim of this events, not the cause!”

Julia took a step back, her eyes widening at his fierce reaction. “You… you’re close to her, aren’t you?”, she asked. Jonathan said nothing, just stared at her with fierce eyes. Julia shook her head. “It’s even more, you _fancy_ her!”, she exclaimed, sighing afterwards. “I don’t like this, Dr Reid. I don’t like it at all. But I suppose you don’t give me much of a choice. I can’t force you to tell me her whereabouts, and even if I could… it’d be wrong”. She looked at the ground self-consciously. Looking up again, she locked her eyes with the doctor’s. “So, I’ll get those samples for you. But you’d better find that cure fast, before I change my mind”, she stated, finding back to her usual confidence.

Jonathan visibly relaxed at her words. “I assure you that I’ll work as fast as I can. This state of affairs does not only trouble you, but also me and, even more, her. If I hadn’t stopped her, she’d have done what you just proposed before by herself”.

Julia’s brow furrowed at that. “Maybe that would’ve been for the better. But things are how they are, I s’pose. So, what exactly do you need?”.

“Mostly blood from infected skals, to begin with. I might need some tissue samples later on, but for now blood should suffice. I can give you some syringes and show you how to take the samples”, he answered, moving to one of the cabinets.

They headed out again afterwards, Dr Reid showing Julia how to draw some blood samples from dead skals. It wasn’t too hard, even for one without medical experience like her since she didn’t need to bother about possible infection or unnecessarily hurting them. Being able to see the blood in their veins also helped. “You should do rounds at the West End, too”, Julia suddenly said as they were heading back to Pembroke.

“I do”, Jonathan replied, eyeing her curiously. “But why are you saying that? Do you know of somebody needing medical attention?”, he enquired further.

Julia nodded. “I think so, yes. After my… conversation with my maker, I bumped into a man, and something seemed to be off with his blood. I can’t tell what, exactly, however. His name’s Clarence Crossley, and you’d better be careful around him as he knows of the presence of vampires – he didn’t recognise me as one, though”.

Jonathan raised his eyebrows. “So, you’ve met Clarence then… I bet you liked each other. But how did his blood exactly look like?”

“You know him, don’t you?”, Julia asked.

“Yes. He’s… well, he’s kind of my best friend. We’ve grown up together”, the doctor explained.

Julia arched an eyebrow. “Wait, the man trying to warn this city about vampires is your best friend? Now that’s fucked up”.

“It is”, Jonathan smiled tightly.

“Does he know that you’re…”, Julia enquired.

“No. And I’d prefer it to keep it this way. It would frighten him to no end”, Jonathan replied curtly.

“Aye, I guess it would. Regarding his blood… I can’t really say. It didn’t really look like he’s sick or something, he’s just, _weak_ somehow…”

Jonathan growled silently. “So, she’s probably bought a new one. Blasted”.

Julia frowned. “What do you mean? Who bought a new what?”

The male ekon sighed. “His wife, Venus. When he got back from the war and was… well, like he is now, warning everybody about vampires and giving most of his money away for the cause – one could say she didn’t take it well”. His voice went thick with pain and anger. “She’s poisoning him, I saw her putting it in his meals”.

“What!? You can’t be serious!”, the female ekon exclaimed, stopping in her tracks. They were almost back at the hospital.

“I’m deadly serious”, Jonathan answered in a dark, angry voice.

“And you haven’t done anything about it!? Why haven’t you told anythin’ to the police? They might not care ‘bout the poorer districts, but this is the West end we’re talkin’ about!”

“And what am I going to tell them, Ms Leigh?”, Jonathan exclaimed, agitated. “That I’ve seen her poisoning his meals as I am a vampire and able to notice her increased heart rate when she went for her horrid deed? And that I’m not able to proof any of my claims since I can’t provide them with anything sufficient for a search warrant!?” He inhaled deeply, calming himself. “I apologize. You didn’t deserve this. It’s just…” he shook his head. “I’m feeling so helpless. I’ve warned him, you know? But he wouldn’t listen. I’ve even thought about ending her, but I just can’t… this is not the solution. I was able to swap her poison against a harmless substance, however, but I’m afraid she got a new one during my absence…”

Julia just stared at him, horrified. “This can’t be a long-term solution!”, she exclaimed. “Even if you swap it again an’ again, one of these days she might find another way!”

“Do you really think I don’t know that?”, Jonathan asked, brushing through his hair. “But what am I supposed to do? I’m trying to convince her about the wrongness of her doings, as well as I try talking some sense in Clarence, but…” he shook his head.

“Talking sense into them!?”, Julia exclaimed. “You’re a vampire, goddammit! If you can’t go to the police with that, use your abilities!”

The doctor stared at her, wide-eyed. “You aren’t suggesting…”

“Killing her? ‘f course not. But you have other possibilities, Dr Reid. Just _suggest_ to her handing herself over to the police!”

Jonathan shook his head. “I cannot do that. She’d never do something like that on her own and forcing her would result in damaging her mind”.

Julia growled. “Who cares!?”

“You can’t mean that, Ms Leigh. Weren’t _you_ the one hellbent to protect humans from us monsters?”, Jonathan asked, taken aback.

“I’m hellbent of protecting humans from _murderers_ , Dr Reid. I don’t pursue human murderers, sure, since I think we’ve got a police and laws to do that. Also, I think it’s wrong to kill a person if there’s another way, even a murderer. But that doesn’t mean we just have to watch an innocent being cold-bloodedly murdered by his own wife!”

Jonathan shook his head. “You may be right, Ms Leigh, but I will _not_ use my abilities to permanently damage the mind of my best friend’s wife! There must be another solution, and until I find it, I’ll keep on protecting him by swapping her poison”.

Julia shook her head, too. “I really appreciate your morale fibre, Dr Reid, but this is gonna end badly if we don’t do anything about it”. She sighed. “Maybe we could find a way to convince a police officer searching the building without damaging his mind? Or we could try to lure her into a trap – she ought to get her poison from _somewhere_ , doesn’t she?”

Jonathan smiled slightly at that, despite the topic of their conversation. “That might be an idea. Would you help me with that?”

The female ekon gave him a compassionate look. “’f course I’ll help – I won’t stand idly by when a man gets himself killed, after all”.

“Thank you”, Jonathan said, his voice thick with emotion.

“And now I have a feckin’ leech thanking me for helping him. If someone had told me that a week ago, I wouldn’t have believed it”, Julia mused, shaking her head in disbelieve. They discussed about it a little bit more, before she waved her goodbye, the two of them parting their ways for this evening as Jonathan was already running late for his shift.

* * *

Panting, Geoffrey leant himself against a tombstone. It had been over a week since his encounter of this strange leech in the vampire doctor’s office, and despite several sightings of her they hadn’t been able to find its lair. The sightings had often been around Stonebridge cemetery, however, and since the men he sent weren’t able to find anything, he’d decided to go and search by himself – a decision the medics had advised him against and one he was regretting now, since he felt like his heart was about to burst in his chest. _I should not have gone alone_ , he thought. But he had felt almost alright this evening, better than on any other day after his fight against the bloody leech doctor. And he couldn’t send his men out on his personal vendetta for too long. Also, as much as he loathed to admit it, he had some questions for that leech before putting her down, questions he didn’t want to ask in company. Grabbing his hurting chest, Geoffrey slid down onto the ground and closed his heavy eyelids. _Just need a little rest, then I’ll move on…_ he thought, despite the fact that somewhere, deep in his mind, a small voice was screaming at him in alarm, urging him to move. He had just dozed a little bit off as a voice pulled him from sleep.

“Sir? Are you all right? Where you attacked?” a woman asked.

Fighting against his exhaustion, Geoffrey opened slowly his eyes. He couldn’t focus his gaze properly, but after a while he was able to make out a woman wearing a grey coat in front of him. “I…”, he started in a low voice, as he suddenly recognised the pale face. His eyes widened, and he lifted the crossbow clasped to his left wrist. “You!” he rasped, aiming at the leech’s head. A small smirk crept on his face. “We’ve been searching for you the whole week, and now you’re walking right into my arms…”, he continued with rough voice, his thoughts feeling muddled.

“McCullum?”, the beast asked, sounding surprised. “What has happened to you?”

“Doesn’t matter, beast. You’ll die now…”, McCullum managed to say, his breast feeling as if somebody had put it into a vice. His vision went darker and darker now, and as he let the bolt loose he could already tell that it hadn’t hit. The last thing he saw before losing his consciousness was the troubled leech’s face hovering over him, then the creeping darkness around him caught him for good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really should stop with those cliffhangers.


	11. Turn of Events

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, let's see what's up with McCullum, shall we? This chapter was sooo much fun to write, I tell you.
> 
> Also, I did double uploads the last three days, so if you haven't caught up yet, I'd suggest you better do before reading this one ;).

The last few nights had gone by in a blur. They had started out mostly with Julia making small fixings on her clothes and her hideout, followed by her accompanying Dr Reid on his rounds, handing over the samples she collected during the previous nights while he was working his shift. They had gotten fairly comfortable around each other, Julia not eyeing the doctor’s every move anymore and the two of them having much more relaxed conversations now. He even had proposed her to call him with his first name when she gave him the first sample she’d collected, claiming it’d be normal among ‘colleagues’. Julia hadn’t been entirely convinced but went for it as she didn’t care much. Taking the money he offered her for the samples was another thing entirely, however, as Julia loathed the thought of taking alms, even more from a leech. Finally, reason won over her feelings since she did need the money and Jonathan was right when he pointed out that collecting samples was a kind of work, too. She still didn’t like it.

It was just before midnight of the first Friday after her first encounter with Jonathan and Julia was heading back to her hideout from a fruitless observation of Venus in the hope to find the supplier of her poison as she noticed the crouched form of a human sitting on the ground, his back leaned against a tombstone. Her senses almost screamed at her that something was wrong with him, since his heartbeat was unsteady as well as too slow. Cautiously, Julia moved nearer. _Maybe he was attacked by a skal, lost blood? I can’t smell any fresh blood, though…_ The man didn’t seem to notice her, as he kept his head lowered and his breathing didn’t change from the slow, even though strained rhythm. “Sir? Are you all right? Were you attacked?”, Julia asked in a calm voice, trying not to startle the man.

That seemed to do the trick since the man moved, at last, slowly raising his head and opening his eyes. He seemed to have trouble with focusing, however, since he needed almost a minute before he started speaking, his gaze still unfocused. “I…”, he started in a low, strained voice, as suddenly his blue eyes widened, and his expression turned hostile. “You!” he rasped, slowly lifting his left arm, aiming with a crossbow on Julia.

_McCullum_ _?_ , Julia thought, surprised. She hadn’t recognised the man at first – not only because he was even paler and seemed to have lost weight in the short time since their last encounter, but mostly because of his smell. The smell he had when she first met him had almost completely vanished, the small tinge it once had having strengthened to absolute dominance. A tinge smelling like… _a leech? What on earth happened to this man? Did he get in trouble whilst hunting? But I don’t see or smell any leech corpses around…_

McCullum was still aiming at her, his arm unsteady and his aim off, whilst he finally continued speaking. “We’ve been searching for you the whole week, and now you’re walking right into my arms…”, he muttered in a rough voice, some of his words barely understandable as his speech was becoming increasingly slurry.

“McCullum?”, Julia asked, worried. “What has happened to you?”

“Doesn’t matter, beast. You’ll die now…”, the man answered her, some of his words flowing into each other. He let the bolt in his crossbow loose, but his aiming was so much off that Julia didn’t even flinch. Worriedly, she shadow-jumped closer to him, not one second too late since he was just passing out and she managed to catch him just before he fell sidewards.

_And what now?_ , she thought, holding the unconscious man in her arms. She could hear his heartbeat, which was still slow and unsteady, maybe getting even worse. _I’ll bring him to Jonathan. They probably BOTH won’t like the idea, but he clearly isn’t well and this smell… what if… but that wouldn’t make any sense, who’d turn a leech hunter into a leech and just abandon him afterwards? Who would even get this close to him, and why would he not end himself if he ingested leech blood? _

Cautiously, Julia draped the man around her shoulders, moving awkwardly as he was much bigger than her. She went as fast as she could to Pembroke, the short walk exhausting her due to her speed alongside with the additional weight. Finally, she arrived at the hospital. She could see the doctor hunched over something inside, probably using his day off for his research on the cure. Gathering her strength, Julia jumped onto the balcony, landing rather ungraciously due her being off-balanced by the weight on her back and shoulders. The noise saved her from knocking, however, since it had alarmed the doctor who went to the door to let her in. He frowned as he saw the man she carried on her shoulders. “Julia? Who… is that McCullum?”, he asked her, his voice utterly confused.

“Aye, it is. And I’d appreciate it if you’d let us in, Jonathan, since you might have realised that this man needs urgent care”, Julia replied.

Jonathan stepped aside, waving her in and closing the door behind her. “What has happened? Did you two get into a fight?”, he enquired as she laid the man down on Jonathan’s bed.

“No, we didn’t. I found him like this at the Stonebridge cemetery, even though he was conscious then – if you can call his state that. His pulse was already like this though, and also the smell – did you notice it?”, Julia explained.

The doctor narrowed his eyes, taking a discreet sniff. “That can’t be…”, he muttered, hurriedly moving to one of the cabinets and gathering a syringe alongside with the supplies needed to draw a blood sample.

“What do you mean? Do you know what’s wrong with him?”, Julia enquired as the two of them removed the man’s coat.

“I might, even though I didn’t think it could happen after _this_ amount of time… I’ll need to have a look at his blood, first”, Jonathan answered whilst taking a blood sample.

Julia frowned at that. “Is there anything I can do?”, she asked, feeling completely useless as Jonathan hurriedly began to prepare the sample.

He glanced shortly at her, before busying himself with his work again. “Get a blanket on him to keep him warm and put some pillows behind his back so he is kept in a half-sitting position. Also better remove his weapons before you do so, I’d rather have him unarmed when he awakens. _If_ he awakens…”, he muttered darkly. Julia did quietly as he asked, noticing that McCullum’s heart beat seemed to slow down even further.

The next few minutes went by in tense silence while Jonathan prepared a slide with the sample and put it under the microscope. It took him only one look to confirm his suspicion. He compared the sample to some references he had drawn from skals and himself, nevertheless, before finally stating “He’s turning into an ekon. As far as I can tell the process is already quite advanced – even though I can’t be sure, having the process never observed…”.

Julia gave him a horrified look. “Is there anything you can do to stop it?”, she asked.

The doctor shook his head. “I don’t think so – I’m not sure if there even _is_ a possibility to stop a turning, and at this state…” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’d probably kill him if I tried”, he concluded gloomily. Julia looked thoughtfully at the hunter whose heartrate was still slowing. Slowly, she unclasped her crossbow. “What are you doing?”, Jonathan enquired, alarmed.

Julia glanced back at him, her face troubled. “What do you think?”, she asked in a shaky voice. “I doubt that the leader of Priwen wants to carry on as a leech, Jonathan”.

“That would be his decision, don’t you think?”, Jonathan replied softly, placing one of his hands on Julia’s crossbow, who lowered the weapon in response.

_He’s right. My God, what is wrong with me? That man has done nothing wrong, yet!_

“ _If_ he even survives – I’d never have thought it to be possible that the process can take _this_ long…”, Jonathan continued darkly, interrupting Julia’s brooding.

Julia gave him an assessing look. “What do you mean by that – did you…?”, she enquired harshly.

“No”. Jonathan sighed as he shook his head. “He kind of did this himself, I’m afraid”.

“I… don’t understand”, Julia said, frowning.

Jonathan sighed again as he began to explain. “Just before I found the source of the skal epidemic, McCullum set up a trap for me, here, at Pembroke hospital. He thought Edgar and I were the creators of the epidemic and wanted to interrogate me about it. Needless to say, I wasn’t able to give him any satisfying answers since I didn’t even know what he was talking about. We went into quite a fight after that”.

Julia nodded at that. “I have overheard some Priwen guards mentioning something like that. How did you get away, then, since both of you obviously made it out alive?”

“I defeated him and decided to spare his life since we were actually _pursuing the same goal_ , even if we used other means to do so. He was a formidable foe, however, since he’s not only an outstanding fighter but was also supported by ultraviolet curtains as well as… a drop of ekon blood he had ingested before the fight”.

Julia’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You’re shitting me! Why would the leader of _Priwen_ willingly drink leech blood!?”, she exclaimed.

Jonathan smiled tightly. “I don’t think he was aware of this fact since the blood in question was from King Arthur”, he explained. “I wouldn’t know myself, if I hadn’t used the blood for creating the antidote. The smell gave it away, as well as its properties when I used it. My maker confirmed these observations later, however, since he was Arthur’s maker as well. McCullum probably only wanted to use the blood as a protection against the taint, even though I doubt it would’ve been sufficient”.

Julia shook her head in astonishment. “Are you just telling me that _King Arthur_ was a leech?”, she enquired.

“Yes”, Jonathan confirmed.

“This is fucked up”.

The doctor chuckled softly. “I wholeheartedly agree”.

The female ekon glanced back at McCullum, who was still lying unconsciously on Jonathan’s bed. “How long will it take?”, she finally asked.

“I don’t know”. Jonathan frowned, shaking his head in exasperation. “I didn’t even know that the process could take as long as it did here – I’d assume it is because he only drank a drop of the blood. Honestly, it’s a wonder it didn’t just kill him, or turn him into a skal. Probably the strength of the blood saved him from this fate... The process seems to be quite advanced, however. I assume it won’t take too long from now on”.

Julia frowned, contemplating. “We need to get him out of here”, she finally stated. “Having a newborn leech waking up in a hospital is the opposite of a good idea”.

Jonathan nodded, his expression grim. “You’re right. Maybe we could take him to one of the abandoned houses I sometimes use as a hideout…”

Julia shook her head. “Too risky. Priwen’s searching these houses on a regular basis and as long as he’s like that we can’t move fast. And if he wakes up… it’s definitely for the best to have no human around, then. No. We take him to my hideout”.

Jonathan raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure? You might lose the place…”

“I know”, Julia sighed. “But I don’t see an acceptable alternative. We’ll also need… a blood source for him when he awakens. Preferably not a human”.

“I could get some blood from the hospital…”

“Stale blood? He’ll gag after a few gulps, Jonathan!”

The doctor sighed. “Do you have a better idea?”, he enquired.

Julia tilted her head, a grin spreading over her face. “I might”, she answered him, smirking widely. “But you’ll probably better get some blood samples, anyway. And that last dose of the cure you have – he’s a vampire hunter, after all, I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes similar decisions regarding his nutrition as I do. We’ll meet at my place, please let the door on the ground-floor opened, I might be in a hurry when I arrive”

“What do you…”, Jonathan started, but stopped since Julia had already left the room via the balcony. _One of these days, this woman will be the death of me…_ Jonathan thought, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head.

* * *

Getting the blood wasn’t a problem, as the nurses knew he needed sometimes blood for his experiments. Getting McCullum alongside with his weapons and the blood to Julia’s hideout all alone _was_ a problem, though, as the additional weight made moving fast to avoid any encounters not easier. He finally managed to get there, however, leaving the door opened like Julia had demanded. He had just put the man onto Julia’s bed, which had freshly cleaned sheets as Jonathan noticed, when loud noises from the outside caught his attention. As he turned around, Julia was already barging in, followed by a feral skal which was screeching loudly, obviously pursuing her. Julia headed for the room with the cages, shadow-jumping behind the skal and throwing it into the big cage after freezing its blood.

“Could you do me a favour and take the locks out of the drawer of the left laboratory bench?”, Julia asked, panting, while she was holding the door of the cage closed, the skal inside still slashing furiously at her. Jonathan kept his thoughts to himself, for now, taking several massive locks out of said drawer and locking the cage.

“This was unnecessarily dangerous and completely injudicious, Julia! You could’ve at least warned me!”, he scolded her as the beast was finally safely locked away.

“Ah, come on, where’s your sense for adventure, Jonathan? This was fun! And it solved our problem”, Julia responded, a wide grin plastered on her face.

The black-haired ekon only shook his head at her cockiness. “That’s why you wanted me to take the cure with me, isn’t it?”, he asked with tired voice.

Julia nodded. “Aye, I reckoned we’d be better safe than sorry. But that makes my statement from before not any less true. Anyway, we’d better get him into this room, I’d rather have him directly next to his food source when he awakes”. Drawing on her senses, she looked around, frowning as she couldn’t sense the man’s heartbeat. “You did bring him here, didn’t you?”, she asked after a moment.

“Yes”, Jonathan answered, now drawing on his senses, too. “He should be downstairs, in your bed…”, he told her, already on his way to the stairs.

McCullum was still lying on the bed, completely motionless. “His heart has stopped…”, Julia mumbled. “Do you think he’s…”

“…dead?”, Jonathan completed her sentence. He shrugged. “It _is_ normal that the heart stops during the process, but I cannot say for sure. From what I’ve learnt, a non-successful transformation is more… fierce, however, so I would guess he’s got good chances”.

Julia nodded thoughtfully at that, carefully approaching McCullum afterwards. “Would you lend me a hand?”, she asked, grabbing the man under his shoulders. They carried him upstairs, lying him next to the cage with the still raging skal.

“Wonderful décor to wake up”, Jonathan commented dryly as they settled themselves next to the hunter.

“I’m sure he’s gonna love it”, Julia smirked, leaning herself against one of the benches. “Thanks for helping out, though”, she said after a while of silence, which was only disturbed by the noise made by the skal. “I wasn’t sure how you’d react, him being a hunter and all…”

“I’m still a doctor first, Julia, and as doctor I am sworn to treat patients regardless their background”, Jonathan replied.

Julia arched an eyebrow. “Oh? So, all doctors would help carrying a dying man who is sworn to destroy their kind into a wrecked house instead of enjoying their day off?”, she enquired, amused.

“Probably not”, Jonathan admitted, the corners of his mouth twitching. “But just leaving him on his own would be cruel, and dangerous. Even though I have to admit the irony is not lost to me…”, he continued.

“What do you mean by that?”

Jonathan cocked his head. “The hunter becoming the hunted – I have thought about this… opportunity, when I defeated him. He was completely at my mercy; it would have been easy…”

Julia flinched at that. “You’re not serious!”, she exclaimed.

“I wasn’t in the best state of mind at that point”, Jonathan explained with grim visage. “Priwen had just kidnapped one of the few friends I had after my turning, not even to mention the fact that they had hunted me since the first minutes of my rebirth. But in the end, I didn’t do it, it would’ve been wrong, condemning him to this existence…” He shook his head. “Seems like it doesn’t matter in the end”, he finished sadly.

Julia pondered at that. “Why did Priwen kidnap your friend? Is he a leech?”, she asked after a moment.

Jonathan shook his head. “No. They thought he was an accomplice of mine, helping me and William Marshal to create the epidemic”. He sighed. “They weren’t entirely wrong, though. Edgar… he indeed caused this tragedy, even if involuntary”.

Julia raised her eyebrows. “The man who caused this shit was your _friend_?”, she enquired incredulously.

“Yes. He _was_. He’s quite dead now, thanks to Priwen. He had deserved it, however, as much as it pains me to say this”. Jonathan stated curtly. Sensing that her conversation partner wouldn’t want to get into further details, Julia went quiet, contemplating on what she heard whilst watching the motionless McCullum.

“You don’t have to stay here, I guess I’ll be fine on my own. I mean, we don’t even know _if_ he even awakes, let alone _when_ ”, she finally stated.

The doctor merely shrugged. “I don’t mind staying and, knowing McCullum, I’d guess you are going to need any help you can get should he awake. Regarding our insecurities about his state – I think I’ve just got an idea”, he said whilst getting up and gathering some things from the benches. “We’ve got a small laboratory here, after all. His blood should tell me how he’s doing”, he stated, drawing a blood sample from McCullum’s arm. It didn’t take him long to prepare the slide. “His blood is even more mutated than before, this sample is almost indistinguishable from the ekon samples I know, even though I would need to run more tests to be sure…”, he stated after a look on the slide.

“Huh”, Julia huffed. They talked about different strategies of handling McCullum when he’d wake up after that, followed by a discussion about Clarence’s problem with his wife. They were still discussing about the latter when the sun rose and after a while, Julia went to bed, agreeing with Jonathan to take turns with sleeping in case the hunter was to wake up during daytime.

* * *

He didn’t, as it turned out. As Jonathan took another sample from the man’s arm, he noticed something, however.“The wound I’ve just caused healed over directly afterwards. I think it’s not going to be long now”, he stated. The sample confirmed this impression, as it looked completely like the ones Jonathan had drawn from himself.

“Do you have the cure at hand?”, Julia enquired, studying McCullum intensely.

“Of course I have”. They went quiet afterwards, waiting for the things to come.

Finally, it happened. Gasping violently, McCullum sat up, his heart starting to beat slowly. Without hesitation, Jonathan grabbed the man’s arm and injected him the antidote. The hunter didn’t even seem to register it, his gaze fixed on Jonathan’s throat. “Thirsty…”, he rasped.

“I know, McCullum, I know”, Jonathan said reassuringly, wriggling out of the other man’s grasp.

In the meantime, Julia had gripped the skal’s wrist, the beast wriggling furiously and slashing at her with its free claw. Jonathan grabbed the struggling McCullum at his neck, guiding him to the skal. The newborn ekon didn’t need any further persuasion, burying his teeth deeply into the beast’s arm. The skal tried desperately to get away, but McCullum’s grip on its arm was like iron. Julia stepped cautiously back when she saw that the man had the beast for good, bringing some distance between herself and the newborn. At last, the beast stopped struggling, falling to the ground completely drained. Still on the high from the blood, McCullum licked his lips as suddenly something seemed to hit him, forcing the hunter on his knees, groaning. Jonathan had already started worriedly moving towards the man, as he was stopped by Julia’s outstretched arm.

“Don’t”, she said in a low voice. “It’s the ghoul’s memories, they’re overwhelming him. He’ll be fine in a minute and then I guess you wanna stay clear…”, she explained, a compassionate expression on her face as she remembered the sensation of that terrible, wonderful voice singing in her head only too well. And, true enough, the hunter calmed down soon, his gaze finally focusing.

“What…”, he started, his expression turning violent as his gaze fell on Julia. “You! What have you done to me, you fecking monster!?”, he snarled, his fangs visible.

“I didn’t do anything, McCullum”, Julia stated calmly.

“Don’t lie to me, beast – killing Ava wasn’t enough for you was it? Is this a bloody game for you!?” he exclaimed, launching himself at her. Julia didn’t budge, however, but called the shadows to her aid, chaining the newborn efficiently.

“Could you please help me and shove him into that cage, Jonathan?”, Julia asked, her voice still calm, but loud enough to drown out Geoffrey’s curses.

“You can’t be serious!”, Jonathan exclaimed, staring at her, taken aback.

“Deadly. I don’t think he’ll calm down anytime soon – I wouldn’t – and I’d rather not fight him before having a rational conversation. And please, move your arse, this is exhausting. He’s gotten much stronger since last time”.

Shaking his head in disbelieve, Jonathan went to open the cage, shoving Geoffrey, who was unable to move since Julia had frozen his blood as soon as the shadows had released him, inside afterwards. “I’m sorry”, Jonathan apologized to the man as he locked the cage’s door, earning only a hateful glare.

“I should’ve known, the two of you are collaborating! Sparing me _was_ a ruse, wasn’t it, leech!? You were teaming up with this murderer since the very beginning, planning this!”, Geoffrey ranted as soon as he could move again.

“I didn’t even know Julia back then, McCullum”, Jonathan stated, shaking his head.

“Of course, you’re as innocent as a fecking lamb. Should’ve known better than believing a leech!”, the hunter spat.

Julia sighed. “Please, Mr McCullum, I know that this must be utterly confusing, but could you at least calm down enough to listen to us?”

“Ha! As if I’d believe anything coming from your foul mouth after what you have done to Ava!”, the man spat at her.

“Who in god’s name is Ava?”, Jonathan asked, turning towards Julia.

“She was a Priwen guard back in Dublin, a rather high-ranking one ‘s far ‘s I’ve gathered, and apparently a friend of McCullum. She went against a leech called Sion Lucas, together with twelve other Priwen guards. When I came by, the leech had already killed the guards, only Ava remaining. He’d wounded her badly, though, and she didn’t survive, despite me putting the leech down”, Julia explained, her gaze not leaving Geoffrey who huffed furiously at her explanation.

The doctor frowned. “And why, exactly, does McCullum accuse you of murdering her?”, he asked sceptically.

Julia sighed, turning to Jonathan. “’cause I’ve got her crossbow. She gave it to me before she died, and, honestly, I would think the same if I was him”. She turned back to McCullum. “But then your boys must’ve told you that Ava didn’t die of blood loss, and that the wound at her neck was bandaged. If I had wanted to kill her, I would’ve drained her instead of tending to her wounds, wouldn’t I? They also must’ve told you of that dead leech lying around, probably the one Ava was hunting – he’s the murderer you’re looking for, not me. You can hate me ‘s much as you want, McCullum, but I won’t take responsibility for a crime I didn’t commit!”

Geoffrey glared at the beast in front of him. He wanted nothing more than to impale its heart with his sword, but he neither had his sword nor was he able to move much thanks to that bloody cage. The things it had said about the reports of his men were mostly true, however, and as much as he loathed to admit it, things didn’t add up the way he had originally thought. “Two”, he finally grumbled, after rattling at the cage’s bars.

The she-beast frowned. “Two what?”, it asked.

“There were two dead leeches, that bloody bastard probably had a new progeny. The scouts said that had probably broken Ava’s neck”. He narrowed his eyes. “They also said that the target leech had bite marks at its neck, like a human after being drained”.

The female leech smirked at that. “Yeah, the bastard had it coming”.

“That doesn’t mean I believe anything you’re saying, beast!”, Geoffrey exclaimed. “And it doesn’t explain _why I’m a fecking leech now_! Which of you beasts did this to me?”

“None of us did anything to you, McCullum” Jonathan intervened, having listened the exchange between Geoffrey and Julia quietly.

“Is that so? Funny, then I have probably just imagined sucking a ghoul dry. Or having bloody _fangs_!”, McCullum ranted. “As far ‘s I see it, you two are the only leeches around. So, tell, me, who of you bastards did it? I want to know which one of you I’ll have to make suffer when I put you down!”

Jonathan sighed, not at all surprised about McCullum’s stubbornness. “Believe me, if one of us was your maker, you _would_ feel it in your bones, McCullum. This connection is nothing to be taken lightly”.

“He would?”, Julia intercepted, surprised.

“Yes, definitely, as would you”, Jonathan answered her. He turned back to McCullum. “Also, when exactly, should one of us have given you our blood?”, he asked the hunter.

The man scowled at him. “Probably that she-beast gave me some of hers when I passed out at that damned cemetery!”

“And why would I do that, _hunter_!?”, Julia exclaimed.

“Please, Julia, don’t make this harder as it is”, Jonathan pleaded her, rolling his eyes. “And you, McCullum, just take a moment and _think_ instead of jumping to conclusions! Isn’t there a very special moment you remember having ingested blood?” he asked.

It was quiet for a moment as Jonathan’s words sank in. “That can’t be – what is this for a ruse!?”, Geoffrey exclaimed after a short while, rattling at the cage’s door.

“This is no ruse, McCullum. I’ve analysed the blood of King Arthur when I used it for the antidote and it was the blood of an ekon, without a doubt! And if you do not believe me, then go and take a sniff at it yourself. Your new senses should tell you the truth immediately”.

They went quiet after that, again. Finally, Geoffrey grumbled “You can bet your arse that I’ll do that, leech”.

“So, you won’t attack us as soon as we open the cage?”, Jonathan asked, relieved that the man finally seemed to see reason.

“Not for now. But I might change my mind, beast”, McCullum snarled.

“That’s good enough for me”, Jonathan said, moving to the cage to unlock it.

“Hold on a minute, Jonathan”, Julia intervened just as the doctor was starting to unlock the first lock.

“What is it?”, Jonathan enquired, glancing back at the woman.

“Before you open that cage, I want to know what _precisely_ your plans are, McCullum”, the female ekon enquired, narrowing her eyes.

“I don’t see why this should concern you, leech”, the man responded heatedly.

“Isn’t that obvious? I won’t have a newborn _leech_ without proper self-control running around unsupervised nearby _any_ humans!”, she stated, her gaze relentless.

“I don’t need a bloody nanny!”, the man exclaimed.

Julia arched an eyebrow. “So? Let’s put this theory to a test, then, shall we?”, she asked, whilst moving to the blood samples Jonathan had placed on one of the laboratory benches the night before. Holding her breath, Julia opened one of the bottles and poured some of the liquid onto the bench in a small arc. The effect was instant. His fangs fully extended, McCullum threw himself against the cage bars, his gaze fixed on the blood. “So much for your self-control”, Julia remarked, closing the bottle again. Since she could feel her own fangs extending, the thirst burning in her throat, she went for the basin, fetching some water to clean the bench.

“That was cruel”, Jonathan commented with a low voice.

“It was necessary. I’ve almost killed the first human I’ve encountered after my turning and I won’t risk anyone’s life like this, so he needs to see reason”, Julia replied adamantly.

Geoffrey had recovered by now, glaring at the two ekons in front of him through the cage’s bars. As much as he loathed to admit it, the she-beast was right about his self-control. He bared his fangs, pouring his self-loathing into anger towards the two other ekons in the room. “So, what do you suggest, then, beast?”, he asked in a petulant voice “Do you want to keep me in this cage like some bloody pet? Better kill me immediately, then!”

Julia shook her head. “I highly doubt that keepin’ you in there will do any good, McCullum. No, I thought we could go for a little hunt, you and I. There’s nothing better than exposure to learn self-control, I guess”.

Geoffrey gave her a disbelieving glare. “If you’re seriously thinking I’d go preying on humans…”, he started, wrought-up.

“I’m talking about ghouls, you git”, Julia interrupted him.

The man twitched his mouth unwillingly, before finally approving, his face distorted with revulsion. “Fine, leech”.

Julia nodded at that. “I’ll get you your sword, then, you’re probably gonna need it”.

When she came back, carrying Geoffrey’s sheathed sword, the man was already outside the cage, glaring at her and Jonathan. “I’ll have to leave, I’m afraid…” Jonathan started sheepishly.

“I know, your shift”, Julia nodded at him. “Could you do me a favour, though, and relieve me of that ghoul? It took me ages to get the smell of stale blood out of here and I’ll probably will have my hands full with our new _problem_ …”, she continued.

“I’m standing right beside you, leech”, Geoffrey remarked sharply.

“I know”, Julia smirked.

“It was your idea to put it in here in the first place… But yes, I will lend you a hand”, Jonathan answered her previous question, ignoring the bickering between the two of them. He picked up the drained body, leaving the building via the sewers.

* * *

“Well, I guess we should get on our way, too. Here’s your sword. Try to keep it away from me, will you? Otherwise I might feel forced to put a bolt into your crown jewels – that’d keep you occupied for a while, I guess”, Julia stated as she was alone with McCullum, whose expression was still beyond pissed.

The man only huffed at that, taking his sword and fastening it at his belt. He followed Julia through the door, then, taking in his surroundings. “Where in god’s name are we?”, he enquired as they went through the small laboratory.

“In an old laboratory of the brotherhood of Saint Paul’s Stole – at least that’s what Jonathan told me. The previous owner has been turned into a ghoul after an unsuccessful experiment, so he won’t need it anymore”, Julia explained, heading towards the door. Without even glancing back, she stepped onto the balcony, shadow-jumping into the building on the other side of the canal.

“Hey!”, McCullum exclaimed “and how should I get there!?”

“Just stop thinking and jump, McCullum”, Julia responded, eye-rolling and not bothering to raise her voice since the man would be able to hear her easily due to his new senses. McCullum pressed his lips into a tight line at that, gathering his strength. The jump was sudden, and he felt somewhat nauseated afterwards. “That’ll go away with practice”, Julia stated as she saw him rubbing his forehead. They went through the decrepit building afterwards, Julia taking the lead.

“Stonebridge cemetery! So, here’s where you were hiding all the time!”, Geoffrey exclaimed as they stepped out of the door.

“Aye. ‘t was a nice hideout, even if a little bit run-down. And thanks to you, I won’t be able to use it anymore”, Julia replied scornfully. “I’d suggest we head for Whitechapel, as the cemetery ‘s rather empty since I’m hunting here almost every night… You can take the lead, I’d rather keep an eye on you, _leech_ ”, she continued, ignoring the glare Geoffrey was giving her. The walk over the cemetery was tense and quiet, both of them eyeing each other suspiciously. Finally, as they had made it to the streets, Julia broke the silence. “Hold it!”, she breathed. “There’re humans nearby – probably Priwen. And even if not, I don’t trust your restraint. Follow me”.

Before McCullum could answer, she shadow-jumped onto the roof of a nearby building, using several balconies as halts in between. Cursing under his breath, Geoffrey followed her lead, as he could see that she was already aiming her crossbow at his head, urging him to move. She had been right about the practice, though, since each jump seemed to get easier, Geoffrey not feeling dizzy after the jump anymore. “You should be able to sense them already”, Julia whispered as he landed beside her. The hunter frowned, as he neither heard nor saw anything. “Come on, this is instinctual. Just focus”, the other ekon sighed.

It took a moment, but suddenly, his vision greyed out, something he was familiar with from his awakening. He drew in a sharp breath as he could make out the forms of three men coming up the street, all of them glowing enticingly, their blood calling him like a siren’s song. Aghast, he drew back his senses, feeling how something in him stirred with hunger. “This is disgusting”, he snarled, appalled by himself.

“I know”, the she-beast answered him, her voice sad. “Which is a reason why we’d better stay clear of them. You see that roof over there? Try to jump on it, we’d better get away from here”.

They spent the next few minutes shadow-jumping from roof to roof, only occasionally moving to the ground. “Do you leeches always move like this?”, McCullum asked as the two of them finally stopped on an exceptionally high roof.

The other ekon frowned. “I do, since I like the overview it gives me, as well as the possibility to avoid most encounters with humans on the streets. But I’m not aware of any other leeches using the roofs in the extent as I do”. She grinned. “I’ve always liked high-up places. So, it’s probably really just me”.

Geoffrey contemplated on that, making an internal note to train his men for looking up more. _Train my men? As a bloody leech? They’ll have my head! And if not, they’ll betray everything what Priwen stands for!_ Pondering on that and finally deciding to worry about it later on, he assessed the other ekon intensely. She seemed to be occupied with searching for something, even though a part of her attention seemed to be always staying on him, her never letting go of Ava’s crossbow in her right hand.

“Have a look to the south”, she suddenly said. Withdrawing his attention from her, Geoffrey did as she demanded, using his leech senses when he didn’t see anything at first.

“Do you see that?”, she asked.

“There’re sleeping people in that house. And something’s not right with them”, McCullum stated.

“They’re sick. But I mean the figures behind the house”, the woman answered impatiently.

Geoffrey frowned. “I can’t see them…”

“Huh. Probably needs more practice to see that far… follow me, then”, the other ekon replied.

A few metres further, the hunter could finally make out four figures moving behind the house, their blood-flow as slow as the one of the ekon in front of him. “Leeches”, he stated, drawing his sword.

“Aye. Well, ghouls to be precise”, the woman in front of him confirmed, glancing back at him with a smirk on her face. “Time for a good old hunt. The two on the right are mine”, she grinned, baring her fangs in anticipation.

_Bloody monster_ , Geoffrey thought before starting to move again. They went for the last roof, assessing the situation in front of them. The ghouls where hunched over a dead body, probably some poor sod they had torn apart before.

“You go first”, the woman grinned at him, her expression malicious.

Geoffrey scowled, not at all liking to have the ekon in his back while fighting, but then he guessed that the worst that could happen to him already had happened, so he jumped down onto the ground, preparing himself for a hell of a fight. The beasts reacted on his sudden approach immediately, one of them shadow-jumping towards him. Geoffrey dodged easily, however, slicing through the beast’s belly with a furious swing of his trusted blade. He side-stepped the next attack again with ease, finally beheading the beast. One of the others was spitting poison in his direction but didn’t hit as he shadow-jumped away from it. It took him only seconds to take the beast out, hastily retreating afterwards to avoid its poisonous blood. He just glanced around for the next opponent as the smell of fresh blood hit him, turning his attention to the last beast standing. It was bleeding heavily from a cut in his throat, seemingly frozen to its spot. Geoffrey jumped right in front of it, called by the blood, as suddenly, seemingly out of thin air, his company appeared at the beast’s throat from behind. Without hesitation, she sank her teeth into the beast’s neck, drinking greedily until nothing was left.

Turning her attention back to Geoffrey after coming back of the high the blood had given her, the woman licked her lips. “I thought I told you that the right ones where mine”, she said, arching her brow while she went to gather the crossbow bolt she had used to take down the other skal.

Geoffrey growled at that, angry and appalled by his own reaction. “Don’t lecture me, beast! And was it _really_ necessary to cut that leech’s throat like that? I’d have thought a monster like you’d go for any blood it can get”.

“You’re now a monster, too, McCullum, as your reaction to that blood has proven”, the other ekon reminded him sternly. “And yes, it was necessary. You remember that voice singin’ in your head after your feeding?” Geoffrey nodded grimly, shivering at the memory. “That was the memory of that ghoul you’ve drained, it’s the epidemic that does that to them. You can avoid getting their memories if you don’t drink _all_ of their blood, though, and that’s what I’ve done there. Ah, and don’t worry, you won’t go nuts like them, Jonathan used his antidote on you when you awoke to make sure of that”.

Geoffrey frowned, snarling in disbelief. “Wait, are you saying leeches get the _memories_ of the poor sods they’re draining?”, he enquired. He remembered the muddy images he had gotten from the skal, of course, but he had been thinking it was some madness his new leech mind had made up.

“Apparently, at least parts of them – I don’t know how it works with human victims, however”, the woman nodded. “We’d better get going, though, _before_ a Priwen patrol stops by. There’re more ghouls down there”, she continued, pointing down the street, “you can have them if you want”.

The next fight went as smoothly as the first one, Geoffrey cutting through the leeches with astonishing ease. “These reflexes! This speed!” He shook his head in unwilling admiration, turning around to the other ekon who had just put down the last skal with a well-aimed shot. “I feel so powerful, it gives me shivers! Seeing this, I could be the greatest vampire hunter ever – your worst nightmare, in truth!”, he exclaimed.

The woman laughed at that, throwing her head back. “My worst nightmare!? Hardly.”, she stated, still chuckling. “’s far as I am concerned, the more leeches you put down, the better, McCullum. Well, with a few exceptions maybe”, she continued.

Geoffrey frowned at that, surprised by her reply. “What exactly happened between you and Ava? What was it you promised her?”, he asked after a moment of contemplation.

The leech raised its eyebrows in surprise. “So, you finally believe me? Now, that was fast progress”, it stated dryly.

“This doesn’t mean I believe anything coming from your foul mouth, _beast_ , I’m just curious which lie you’ll be coming up with!”, Geoffrey replied in a nasty tone.

“Ah, I see”, the she-beast answered, smirking. “Well, then let’s answer your question, _leech_ ”, she continued, sobering. “As I’ve told you, I asked her to end me, since I was afraid to become like those _beasts_ roaming the streets of Dublin. But she refused. Said I’ve put down ‘s many leeches in two weeks as Priwen did in the last few months as long as it comes to Dublin”. The woman locked her eyes with Geoffrey. “She wanted me to promise that I’ll keep fighting. The hunger, and the leeches. Said she had a feeling that I’d keep the promise. And that I did, successfully, at least until now”.

“A feeling.”, Geoffrey replied, shaking his head. “If you’re lying, you’re doing a good job, leech. That exactly sounds like Ava”. He narrowed his eyes. “You were the new player in Dublin, the one putting down the other beasts, weren’t you? How old are you?”, he enquired.

The other ekon’s expression darkened. “Aye, I was. And has nobody told you that asking a woman ‘bout her age is impolite? But I’m 25 if you must know”.

“You’re a _newborn_!? And then you’re _lecturing_ me!?”, he snapped, disbelieving.

“Well, I’ve got more experience with being a leech than you have, don’t I? Or should I just have left you dying on the graveyard so you can suck dry the first person unlucky enough to come by as soon as you awake!?” the woman replied with dark face.

“How did you do it?” Geoffrey huffed, ignoring her response.

“Do what?”, the woman asked, her tone irritated.

“Putting down all those leeches – you’re a newborn, after all! They should’ve taken you out with ease!”

“As are you”, Julia replied, arching an eyebrow. “And you didn’t have much trouble with those ghouls, had you now? Apparently, we’re both from a strong maker”.

Geoffrey pondered at that, contemplating about what this implied. “How would you know if Arthur was a strong leech?”, he enquired after a moment, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

The woman smirked. “Just guessin’, since Jonathan and Arthur share the same maker – and you probably know better than me what a strong bastard Jonathan is”.

_As hell I do._ Geoffrey narrowed his eyes even further. _I wonder how strong she is. She’s faster than any leech I’ve encountered before, that’s for sure._ Before he could ask the other ekon any more questions, she urged him to move on, however, her face wary again. They spent the rest of the night hunting skals, Geoffrey getting increasingly familiar with his new abilities and the damned thirst, the presence of the other leech helping, as much as he loathed to admit. Julia had been right about his control and the exposure, as in the morning opening that damned blood bottle still stirred his hunger much more than he was comfortable with, but he didn’t get out of control anymore – maybe the fact that he had fed on more than one skal during their hunt also helped.

“Good enough”, the woman said after a moment, pursing her lips.

To his surprise, she handed him his crossbow alongside with the gun and the ammunition after that, muttering something about he’d probably ransack the place if she didn’t. They spent the day locked inside a room below the old laboratory, both sitting quietly in an armchair, uneasy with each other’s presence. Finally, in the evening hours, Julia fell asleep, giving in to the exhaustion from the lack of sleep of the day before. Geoffrey studied her relaxed face for a while. _If I wanted to put her down, this would be the perfect opportunity_. He sighed quietly. As much as he loathed to admit it, she seemed to be almost decent, considering what he had seen from her so far – for a leech and if she wasn’t lying, at least. And he owed her something for her help. Gathering quietly his things, he slipped out of the house just at sunset and headed for the Priwen headquarters in Whitechapel, leaving the other ekon sleep. _Now we’ll see if the bloody leeches were lying or not._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that, children, is the reason why you should be careful about what you drink :P


	12. Priwen Does Not Compromise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we all know what Geoffrey is going to find when he takes a sniff at Arthur's blood - since he already snatched it back from Jonathan, he will need to go back to Priwen's headquarters to do so, however, so let's see how that turns out...
> 
> Also, before I get a number of comments telling me I've mispelled "Nimrod" in this chapter: I know that I wrote "nemrod" instead of "Nimrod". And I have my reasons to do so, you will understand them later ;)

Geoffrey’s way to Whitechapel was a quiet one as he preferred to mostly avoid the streets, only taking out one group of Skals to sate his resurfaced thirst. A few blocks away from the headquarters he stopped on a roof, contemplating about the best approach. _Trying to sneak in would be suicide – we made very sure of that. Direct approach, then. They wouldn’t suspect me being a leech and we ARE creatures of deceit._ With that, he jumped down on the street, walking casually towards the old warehouse that served as Priwen’s headquarters. The streets were unexpectedly quiet, Geoffrey encountering no patrol on his way. _Where are they? I’m only a few days away and these bloody idiots are already fucking things up?_ , he pondered, narrowing his eyes. Finally, as he headed for the entrance, he encountered somebody. It was a young sergeant, alongside with a lower-ranking guard whose name he couldn’t recall.

“Sir!? Where’ve you been? Jeez, we searched the whole bloody city for ya, Captain Benson thought you’re dead!”, the sergeant exclaimed as he recognised Geoffrey, lowering the weapon he had cocked when seeing the man approaching.

“I ran into some unexpected trouble, Smith, took me some time to sort it out. But where are the patrols? Me being away is no reason to forget about the safety of our headquarters!”, Geoffrey exclaimed, keen on keeping the conversation short.

The other man fidgeted at that. “There’s trouble in the West End, and ‘s most men are searchin’ for you, including the captains, I’ve sent two ‘f the patrols to have a look at it…”, he explained, shifting uncomfortably.

“Have you taken leave of your senses!?”, Geoffrey yelled, wrought up. “Keeping the headquarters safe is always, and I repeat, _always_ the top priority! What if some leeches would have decided to attack here, using whatever trouble there was as a distraction!? We can’t risk on losing all the wounded men we have in here alongside with our weaponry and ammunition!”.

Taking a step back, Sergeant Smith eyed his furious leader nervously. “I… should I call them back?”, he asked, swallowing. Sighing frustratedly, Geoffrey shook his head.

“No, of course not! You’ve said that most of the men are searching for me – since I am here now, it would make more sense to call _them_ back, wouldn’t it?”, he explained, keeping his voice only barely calm.

“Uh… yes, Sir, ‘f course, Sir!”, sergeant Smith answered Geoffrey, obviously intimidated.

“Since all captains are out, I assume they took the radio cars with them – try to reach them over those. Tell them to do the usual rounds, keeping those bloody feral beasts at bay. _After_ you established the patrols for the headquarters. And tell the captains that I won’t see them this night, I’ll need to do some research on something, and I _don’t_ want to be disturbed. Have you understood that?”, Geoffrey ordered harshly.

“Yes, Sir. I’ll call back the search parties an’ set up two patrols for the headquarters, the others will do rounds as usual. And I’ll tell the Captains ya don’t wanna be disturbed”, the sergeant answered nervously.

“Correct. Now, if you would excuse me, I’ve got other things to do”, Geoffrey replied, leaving the man to his duties afterwards.

The hunter felt a pang of relief when he was able to enter the building without problems. _No invitation needed. Probably makes sense, as this is also MY home._ He headed straight for the vault, knowing that King Arthur’s blood was stored inside a safe there. It took him only one sniff at the opened flask to realize the truth. _Leech blood. Almost smells like the one of that she-beast. Seems like the leeches didn’t lie after all. Reid could’ve swapped the content of the flask, however, putting his own blood in, I’ve never smelled his blood from an open wound…_ _But why would he prepare such a ruse? Only to trick me when turning me? What would he get of that? A few days ago, I’d have thought he’d just do it because he’s a bloody leech. But now… I wouldn’t do something like that without a reason, and I am undeniably also a leech._ There was no point in denying it, he needed to do some research to get answers. He spent the next few hours with searching the vault, cursing mentally since he knew exactly which book could’ve held the answers he needed – he had watched Carl burning it. Finally, he had found two thin books which might hold some information and made his way to his office – having the flask with Arthur’s blood safely tucked into his coat. _I won’t have happening what happened to me to any of my men._

He had to delay his research, however, since the size of the report pile on his desk was alarming. Sighing, Geoffrey worked through the most important ones, writing down some orders for his captains, including an urgent warning to include regular controls of higher up places like roofs and balconies into the normal patrolling program. Finally, it was already nearing dawn, he was done with his work. Glancing at the two still untouched books, the ekon got up.

_I don’t think I’ll be able to work them through before sunrise and I doubt that I can call off my men much longer._ There had already been someone knocking at his door twice, after all. _But I cannot risk encountering any of my captains right now. They might see through my ruse and I won’t be able to flee during daylight – and I sure as hell won’t just roll over and let them kill me like a rabid dog. I can still fight leeches, maybe even better than before – if I manage to keep that godforsaken hunger at bay... But fighting my own men is also not an option. I need to get out of here._ Pressing his lips together, he contemplated on that. _Carl’s old safe house. Even most of the guard don’t know of the place_ , he finally decided, gathering some clothes alongside with ammunition, some paperwork and the two books. He laid the orders visibly onto the table, alongside with a note that he’d be out for some time, before unlocking the door and leaving the office through the window, not wanting to encounter any of his men on his way.

After some tense moments when leaving the area of the headquarters since one of the priests seemed to have sensed him, Geoffrey’s walk to Carl’s old safe house was a quiet one, despite the fact he needed to cross some more unsavoury parts of Whitechapel. _The reports were correct. The number of feral beasts IS dropping._ He reached the house just before sunset, hurriedly closing the curtains as soon as he made it inside the small flat on the first storey. The rooms were in a surprisingly well state considering the fact that they had not been in real use for years. _That’ll do for some time. Carl’s probably turning in his grave right now, having a bloody leech using his safe house as a fecking lair._ There wasn’t much Geoffrey could do about this, however, so he laid down feeling heavy with drowsiness, now that the sun was up and after having spent the day before awake.

* * *

Geoffrey closed the second book with an annoyed sigh. He had started to work through them just after sunset, but the hours of work hadn’t payed off – neither of the books held any information about King Arthur. _Like apprehended. How I hate wasting time like that._ Placing the second book onto the first one on the desk he had been working at, Geoffrey got up. _I need to see Talltree, there’s no way around it. That conversation won’t be a pleasant one._ The primate of the Brotherhood of Saint Paul’s Stole wouldn’t be happy to see him, especially not after the events with Dr Swansea. _There is no point in delaying the inevitable._ After locking the house’s door behind him, Geoffrey made his way to Temple church, taking down several groups of skals on his way, this time.

“Geoffrey McCullum! The cards have been correct, this _is_ a turn of events I would not have expected”, Geoffrey was greeted by the dark-skinned primate as he entered the crypt beneath Temple Church.

“Talltree. Still freezing your arse off by sitting here all night, I see”, Geoffrey huffed, annoyed by the nonsense with those cards.

The other man raised his eyebrows. “Why are you here?”, the primate enquired, his tone sharp. “I have already told your men that I am neither a vampire, as also your new _senses_ should tell you, nor am I the reason for this skal crisis. Or haven’t you gotten enough after what you did to the poor Dr Swansea – have you tasted _blood_ when your men ended him?”

Geoffrey narrowed his eyes upon the barely hidden allusions, placing his hands on the desk between the two of them. “Might be that you have the heartbeat of a human, Talltree, but your organisation is still _in the cahoots_ with leeches and I sure as hell won’t cut you cowards any slack. What happened to Swansea was not intended, and I would see the men who did this punished if Reid hadn’t killed them in the first place, but this epidemic had its epicentre around Pembroke hospital and I cannot believe that the presence of one of your lot alongside with the strongest leech I’ve ever encountered is a mere _coincidence_! But I am not here for that. I need any information you have on _this_ ”, he answered, slamming the flask with Arthur’s blood on the desk during the last sentence.

“And what is _this_ , if I may ask? And, why, _exactly_ do you think I would be willing to share any of the Brotherhood’s information with a murderer and a thieve?”, Talltree asked with a glare.

“ _This_ is King Arthur’s blood. And, apparently, the blood of a leech, since it was able to turn me into one – all I want is to find more information about it, so something like this won’t ever happen again. And I will get this information, regardless _what_ means I’ll have to use”, Geoffrey replied sharply.

The primate narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you dare threatening me in my own house, _Ekon_. Keep on pursuing this road, and you might see yourself faced with a force that is out of your depth! As for King Arthur’s blood, I would have thought you _thieves_ have all information about it in your treasure room, as your revered founder Kendall Stone has _stolen_ them from us!”, he stated in a dangerous voice.

Geoffrey glanced aside, feeling uneasy. “I think we had information about it, alongside with the note how to use the blood if Priwen was ever to encounter an ichor. But Carl has burnt the book”, he admitted.

“He _burnt_ the book!?”, Talltree exclaimed furiously. “So, the damage that was done by the founder of your organisation when he stole or destroyed half of our library wasn’t enough for your _organisation_ , you are even destroying your own library!? And now you have the _nerves_ to come running to me, crying and desperate for the knowledge _you have destroyed_ because your _ignorance_ _and recklessness_ has backfired on you!?”youyo _you_

“Stop shitting me, Talltree, I know perfectly well that your lot will have reconstructed at least some of the information I seek, bloody bibliophiles that you are! And I’m not ‘coming running to you’, I am merely trying to avoid any further catastrophes from happening – something you should also be interested in! Or, maybe, you _aren’t_ , since your lot just _loves_ leeches! The more of them, the better, isn’t it?”, Geoffrey spat in return.

The man in front of him leaned back in his chair, folding his hands in front of his belly and sighing heavily. “No, McCullum, the brotherhood does not celebrate the creation of new vampires. But this is a sensitive topic and surely not to be discussed with one of _your_ kind. I might be willing to share the Brotherhood’s information regarding King Arthur with you, however. But this will come at a price”, he stated.

“What do you want?”, McCullum enquired, not at all surprised.

“I want you to stop with your course of destruction, McCullum. Right now, your men are destroying _valuable_ sources of knowledge and I will see this to be ended!”

Geoffrey frowned at that. “I don’t know what your spies are smoking, Talltree, but my men are far too busy with hunting leeches than to be able to bother about some old tomes”.

“I’m not talking about tomes, McCullum, I am talking about the invaluable knowledge your men destroy every time they are killing an immortal”, the other man replied, visibly disgruntled.

“You want Priwen to stop hunting leeches!? Are you insane!? There’s no way I’d ever agree to something like that!”, Geoffrey spat, wrought up.

“I am _not_ asking you to stop hunting all vampires, all I want of you is to stop hunting them down indiscriminately! A goal _you_ should find acceptable, thinking of the… delicate position you’re finding yourself in”, Talltree answered agitatedly, leaning forward again.

Geoffrey twitched his mouth unwillingly. “Priwen does not compromise, Talltree”.

The primate raised his brows. “So? Then I’d gather you have put yourself on that baleful list of yours? No? I thought so”, he said, seeing the ekon’s expression as he asked the question. “Maybe you should give your convictions a second thought, McCullum. But I see this is something that cannot happen in one evening”. Talltree sighed again. “I will not give in, however. You will at least stop the great hunt if you expect me to share any information with you”, he continued.

Geoffrey contemplated a moment on that, hiding a smirk as he answered. “Fine. Think of the great hunt as stopped – at least for the time being. I cannot say how long I’ll be able to stay… in my current position and I am not able to speak for my successor”. It was not a hard promise to make, after all, since he had stopped the hunt already two weeks ago, his men being too busy with cleaning the streets of infected skals to bother hunting down the other beasts in their lairs. It was not Geoffrey’s problem if the continued presence of Priwen on the streets had caused the brotherhood to think otherwise.

“I assume I can’t ask for more. Very well, I will give you the information you required, then. I know the guard knows perfectly well where the brotherhood moved its tomes to, but I’d ask you to have at least the courtesy of turning around”, Talltree answered, getting up from his chair.

Geoffrey only nodded quietly, though he listened intensely as he turned around. He heard the sound of stones scratching over other stones, first very faintly and then louder, followed by steps dying away in a hallway, the sound suddenly drowned out as again stone scratched over stone. He was already getting impatient as Talltree finally returned, his arrival announced by the scratching noise.

“You can turn around, now, McCullum”, the amused voice of the primate sounded. As Geoffrey turned towards the man, he saw that he was carrying a single, quite new-looking book. “I have marked the page which contains the information you are looking for. You might find the rest of the book also enlightening, however. It is a copy recently made, so you may keep it – at least I don’t have to worry about any more precious tomes being burnt this way”, the man stated as he handed over the book to Geoffrey.

The ekon only huffed at that. “’Whispers of our past?’ Fancy name”, he stated as he opened the book at the marked page. He needed a moment to find the right paragraph, since it was a very short one. Its content was scarce, to put it charitably, stating that King Arthur had been an ekon of outstanding strength, some sources claiming he was protecting mankind (something McCullum highly doubted) but dying at a for his kind surprisingly young age, while other sources stated he was a dangerous monstrosity which was finally destroyed by an unknown force. There was also a remark of a possible link between King Arthur and something called ‘the horned vampire’. “That’s it? That’s all you have?”, McCullum enquired, frustrated.

“Yes. That’s it. We would have had more, if Kendal Stone had not decided to _steal_ from us, _hunter_ ”, the other man scolded him with narrowed eyes.

Geoffrey decided to ignore the last sentence, since a renewed argument would probably have ended in violence – at least from Geoffrey’s part. “What’s ‘the horned vampire’? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a leech with horns.”, he asked instead.

Talltree smirked slightly at that. “This, my dear hunter, is a question the Brotherhood has been trying to answer for decades now. We do not know much about him, he is a myth even among vampires. All I can say is that he must be very ancient and that he was only ever seen in England”.

The ekon contemplated on that. “Could he be Reid’s and Arthur’s maker?”, he asked after a moment.

Talltree raised his eyebrows. “Since there might be a connection between Arthur and the horned one, I’d assume it would be possible. I do not know why you’re thinking Dr Reid is in any way connected to him, however”.

“Arthur and Reid share their maker, so if that horned leech made Arthur…”, Geoffrey replied.

Talltree’s eyes widened in surprise “They do? Are you sure of that?”, he enquired, obviously excited by that prospect.

The hunter shrugged. “It was a leech who told me that, and you can’t ever be sure about anything that comes from their foul mouths. But as she seems to be close to that beast doctor and had no reason in lying to me when it comes to this…”

“How very interesting. Seems that Dr Reid has finally solved the mystery of the identity of his maker then…”, Talltree mused. Geoffrey frowned at that. He had already discarded of the thought of William Marshal as Reid’s maker, since neither the doctor’s reactions when questioning him at Pembroke nor Julia’s statement fitted to this theory. He had not known that the doctor had been at loss regarding this question himself, however. “If this was all, McCullum, I would ask you to leave. It might not look like it, but I have quite a lot to do”, Talltree said after a moment of silence.

“Fine. I have a last question, however”, Geoffrey replied, tucking the book Talltree had handed him into his coat, alongside with the flask containing Arthur’s blood.

“What is it?”, the other man sighed, obviously annoyed.

“Considering the fact that your traitorous lot has much more experience with observing leeches’ behaviour… do you know if it is possible for a leech to sustain himself completely on the blood of other leeches?”, Geoffrey enquired, trying to keep his voice calm despite the various feelings raging inside of him.

“I probably shouldn’t be surprised about _you_ asking this question”, Talltree answered, shaking his head. “We named this kind of vampires you are asking for nemrod. They hunt on their own kind, mainly consuming the blood of this prey. They are very seldom, however, and I know, in fact, only of one true nemrod who has never killed any human for his blood”.

The hunter frowned at that, contemplating. “That one nemrod wouldn’t happen to be a female; brown-haired, fast as fuck and with quite some attitude, claiming to be a newborn?”, he enquired.

“No, it wouldn’t”, the other man answered him curtly, also frowning. “Do you know more about her? A newborn ekon turning up in this city during these trying times is always interesting news – especially if she is a possible nemrod”.

“For what? So you can protect another leech? Hardly”, McCullum replied, twisting his mouth unwillingly.

The primate sighed. “Very well, McCullum. I guess this meeting is at its end, then”, he responded, waving his hand dismissively. Geoffrey didn’t reply, but just turned around and left the crypt.

He made his way back to Carl’s safehouse, contemplating on the new information. _I can turn it like I want, it fits to everything the leeches have told me. If this is a ruse, it’s quite well-made. And I can’t see the goal of it. Seems I am really the one to blame for this shit I’ve got myself into._

“FUCK!”, Geoffrey exclaimed, punching a nearby wall. He could feel his knuckles starting to bleed, only to heal over seconds later. “Bloody leech regeneration!”, he shouted, punching at the wall again and again, only stopping as he heard one of his bones cracking. Panting, he leaned his head against the wall, observing the regeneration process of his hands.

_This is unnatural. I’m a monstrosity, the very thing I’m sworn to destroy! The hunter becoming the beast, how very poetic!_ He snorted. _I bet there’s more than one leech out there who’d find this very amusing._ As his knuckles were healed over, he continued his travel to the safehouse, his wrath translating into violence as he took out two more groups of skals in the most gruesome fashion on the way.

* * *

The door was locked when he returned, just like he had left it. Something was amiss, however, as a strong smell was lingering in the air, covering all other smells. A smell he only knew all too well, since he had used its property many times to mess up with leech senses. _Mint and garlic. Somebody’s here, and he knows what he’s doing!_ , Geoffrey thought, searching the room alarmed. It took him only a second to make out the still figure that was sitting on a chair in the darkest corner of the room, its heart beating steadily. _Thomas! Hell, I should’ve known the bloody bastard would know where to search for me!_ The ekon already wanted to call out for his friend and second in-command as he remembered that the light was still switched off. _Sitting in the dark with that smell covering his scent. He suspects something. I must be very careful._ Slowly, he switched on the light, blinking afterwards like a human would do if blinded by the sudden brightness. Then, he turned his gaze back to the room, tensing as he saw the blonde man sitting on the chair and forcing himself to relax afterwards.

“Hell, don’t do that, Tom! I could’ve shot you!”, Geoffrey exclaimed, carefully assessing his second in-command.

“Sorry, Geoffrey. It was not my intention to startle you”, the other man replied, getting up from his chair slowly. “I was surprised, however, to find you and your belongings here instead of the headquarters. We were searching for you for days and instead of meeting with us, you just vanished again”, he continued.

The ekon twitched his mouth unwillingly. He knew perfectly well his behaviour had been more than suspicious, but what else should he have done? He needed to get answers before speaking with any of his captains, needed to think. “And that’s why you’re lying in wait for me in the dark? Bloody hell, if I didn’t know better, I might’ve thought you’ve turned into a leech! I just needed some space to think, Tom, nothing to make a fuss about!”, Geoffrey replied, mentally flinching at the irony of his accusation.

The other man merely arched his eyebrow, not having moved since he had got up from the chair. “’Some space to think’? For three days, without giving any notice? Leaving the guard completely on its own? That’s not the Geoffrey I know”.

Geoffrey sighed at that. “You’re right. And the medics were right when they told me I shouldn’t go out. I fecking collapsed on the street – someone found me and brought me to a doctor. Took two days until I was fit enough to get back to the headquarters”. _Not really a lie…_ “I’m better now, but still not like before, so I reckoned some rest away from everything would be for the best. I didn’t want to tell you since I knew you’d fuss unnecessarily”, Geoffrey explained, carefully avoiding the truth whilst not lying.

Thomas nodded slowly, locking his grey eyes with Geoffrey’s light blue ones. “I see. And, under normal circumstances, I’d be happy you finally see reason and care about your own health. However…”, the man continued, drawing his weapon and cocking it at Geoffrey’s head “… the Geoffrey _I_ knew always cared more about Priwen than his own well-being. He’d never just whisk out leaving only a short note after two days of unnotified absence, not without having a very good reason. The Geoffrey I knew also wouldn’t have left the building without getting seen by any guard. But, moreover, the Geoffrey I knew wouldn’t have sniffed the air like you did when entering a room when only a hint of mint and garlic is lingering in the air. And he sure as hell wouldn’t have been able to localise me in the darkest corner of a pitch-black room within a second. There was enough light coming in from the door to make out your movements, you know”.

Geoffrey’s shoulders sagged. “Carl taught you well”, he stated, knowing that there was no way to hide the truth from his friend anymore.

Thomas clenched his jaw at that, the revolver in his hand not wavering. “He taught you even better, Geoffrey. What happened? I’d never have thought you’d end like this. I’d have thought you’d end yourself before becoming a monster”, he answered, the pain evident in his voice.

“I didn’t _choose_ this, Thomas! I didn’t even know what was happening until it was too late, until the transformation had already happened!”, Geoffrey exclaimed furiously, but avoiding any sudden movements.

His friend only shook his head. “And you didn’t decide to end it when you realised what had happened. But of course you didn’t, leeches see the world differently. You don’t have to explain. Tell me only one thing”, he replied, looking at the ekon sadly. “Who did this to you? Who has ended the life of one of the best friends I ever had?”

Geoffrey shook his head. “I did, Thomas”, he replied in a grave voice. “It was my bloody fault – and Carl’s, if you want”.

“Carl’s!?”, the other man exclaimed, taken aback and visibly furious. “Stop shitting me, _leech_! You could at least have the courtesy to tell me whom I have to fight to avenge my friend after I put you down!”

“Bloody hell, Thomas, don’t you think I would if I could? By god, I’d even help you relieving that bastard of his head, but the thing is: _I bloody can’t!_ You cannot kill what’s already dead and my maker _is_!” Taking a deep breath, Geoffrey continued more calmly, seeing the others disbelieving expression. “Very well. I’ll explain it to you. Do you remember when I fought that bloody leech doctor?”

Thomas nodded carefully, eyeing his former leader suspiciously. “Yes, I do. You weren’t well since then, always so pale, despite the medics not finding anything…” The man’s eyes widened. “So, it was Reid who did this to you!? But how? I’ve never heard of a transformation taking this long!”, he enquired, wrought up.

Geoffrey shook his head. “No, it wasn’t Reid, as much as I’d like to blame that bastard for this shit. But you’re not entirely wrong. Do you remember which… means I used for my ambush?”

“What is this game, leech, what are you aiming at?”, the other man enquired impatiently.

“Just answer my question, Tom. I need you to understand what happened”.

Thomas sighed. “Mint and garlic to hide your presence. Ultraviolet curtains and orichalcum powder to stop the leech from moving and to torture it until it gives you answers. Phosphorus coated crossbow bolts if you need to fight”, he listed, obviously annoyed.

“You’re missing something”, Geoffrey stated, slowly taking the flask with Arthur’s blood out of his coat and placing it on the desk.

“The king’s blood?”, the other man asked, his eyes wide. “I thought we decided not to use it before we had more information on its properties…”

“Aye, that we did”, Geoffrey interrupted him. “But _I_ decided that the risk of waiting was a too high one to take. Before the fight started, I ingested one drop of this blood”. He clenched his jaw. “Turns out it was leech blood, Tom. That’s why I am saying that I did this to myself. I, when I was too bloody stubborn to listen to your advice, and Carl, when he burnt most of the information we had on the blood”.

“That can’t be!”, Thomas exclaimed, shaking his head furiously. “This”, he stated, pointing at the flask, “is the most sacred and precious relic Priwen possesses, from a true protector of Britain! This cannot be the blood from a leech! What are you hiding, beast!?”

Geoffrey smiled humourlessly at that. “I reacted the same way when that bloody leech doctor told me what he had found when he used the blood for his cure. I didn’t even completely believe it when I took a sniff at the bottle and smelled that it was leech blood, I suspected the doctor had switched the content. That’s”, he explained whilst taking out ‘Whispers of our past’ from his coat and placing the book on the table next to the flask, “the reason I went to Talltree. To get some answers. It’s the marked page”.

Thomas eyed him suspiciously as he carefully approached the desk, keeping the revolver cocked at Geoffrey. “This… are you sure these traitors aren’t shitting you?”, he asked after reading the short text.

The ekon nodded slowly. “It fits to everything Reid has told me, Thomas. If it’s a ruse, it’s quite a good one”.

The other man shook his head in disbelieve. “If we had known that… if _you_ had known…” He clenched his jaw. “But you didn’t. And we can’t change the past. I thank you for your cooperation… leech. I think it’s time to end this game here”, he continued, his gun still aimed at Geoffrey’s head. Geoffrey tensed, ready to dodge as soon as he saw Thomas pulling the trigger.

“I won’t just let you take me down like a rabid dog, Thomas”, he warned his friend.

Thomas looked sadly at him. “So, it’s you or me, then?”, he asked, his voice pained.

The ekon cursed violently in Irish at that, still eyeing the revolver cocked at him. “I’d never willingly kill a human, Thomas, even more a friend! You should know me better than this! But I also won’t just roll over to die!”

“Pretty words, _leech_! But then we both know what it is _your_ kind hungers for! Tell me, how many humans have you already murdered, willingly or not?”

Geoffrey gave his conversation partner a hard stare. “None”, he answered in a firm voice.

“Ha! And you really think I believe that, _beast_? And even if it _is_ true, how long will it take until you can’t help yourself? A month? A year? You know how it ended with Ian! You know how it always ends! I won’t let a murderous beast roam this city, and if it wears my friend’s face a thousand times! Makes it probably even worse…”, the other man spat in return, still not pulling the trigger.

“You’re right”, the Irishman replied, suddenly feeling terribly calm. “You _should_ pull this trigger, for the better or the worse. Priwen does not negotiate. Priwen does not compromise. Of all evil, we leeches are the worst, needed to be eradicated, hunted down until there’s none of us left. There’s no one who knows this better than I do. Which bears the question why you’re still just pointing with that gun at my head instead of shooting me, _leader of the guard_!”

Thomas winced at that. “You’re a fucking bastard, Geoffrey McCullum”, he finally said, his voice and body tense.

The ekon scoffed at that. “I always have been, and I always will be. Some things never change, it seems”, he answered, smirking.

Thomas shook his head. “First, you tell me that you won’t let me shoot you like a rabid dog, then you _order_ me to shoot – what should I make of this, _leech_?”

Geoffrey sighed, frowning. “I don’t know, Thomas. The right thing, the thing we were taught to do would be pulling that trigger. To at least try taking down the leech – I wouldn’t hurt you, I’d just leave. But on the other hand…” The ekon shook his head, locking his eyes with the blonde man’s in front of him. “I always thought all leeches would be murderous beasts, thinking of nothing than blood”. He smiled sadly. “And that’s true, at least partly. But I… I am still _me_ , Thomas. I can still hunt, even better than before. Did you know that leeches can sustain themselves on other leeches? I’ve done it so far, as well as another ekon I’ve met. Talltree told me that it’s possible to do this on long term – maybe there’s another solution…”

“By god, you sound like Ava when she was with Ian!”, Thomas interrupted him.

Geoffrey nodded slowly. “Probably I do. Hell, I wonder what she’d make of this shit… Maybe she was right, back then. Maybe we were wrong, Carl and I”.

“Don’t give me this shit, Geoffrey! What you and Carl did was the right thing! And do you really think you can just carry on like before, being what you are!? Priwen will never accept you!”

Geoffrey shook his head sadly. “No. I have to admit, I thought about it, for a while, creating a ruse… but it’d never have worked. And it’s too dangerous – if I think of the damage I could’ve caused last night with the right orders…” He narrowed his eyes. “You should restructure some things, now that you’re in charge. There’s too much power in one person, considering that this person could turn and become our enemy at any time…”

“You really think you can tell me how to do my job, _leech_!?”, Thomas interrupted him.

“No. I just suggested what I thought might be a useful change”, Geoffrey replied with a slight, if sad, smirk.

The new leader of Priwen shook his head, slowly lowering his gun. “You really are a bastard, Geoffrey. But, even as a leech… I can’t put you down. Not like this, when you stand there and lecture me how to do my job”. He narrowed his eyes. “I’ll let you go. This time, for the old time’s sake. Take your things and leave, but if you ever show yourself again, I _will_ fight you. Your name will be put on the list and the boys will be hunting you like any other leech”, he continued, his voice full of pain but steady.

The ekon merely nodded, moving silently through the room into the small bedroom to fetch his suitcase from his bed. As he went back to the desk for the flask, his hand was stopped by Thomas, however. “Hold it! This is property of the guard!”, the man exclaimed.

The ekon furled his brows. “ _This_ is leech blood, Thomas. I won’t have happen to any of the men what happened to me!”

“True”, the other man huffed, not withdrawing his hand. “Which is why I will see to its destruction personally”.

“No!”, Geoffrey exclaimed, continuing before the other man could reply. “We know what it is, now, and as much as I’d love to see it destroyed after what has happened to me, we might still need it! Reid used this very blood to create the antidote needed to save this sorry city! What if a threat like this ever emerges again? But if we just write it down, one of our successors might burn the note again – or it gets lost, or whatever. We need someone as a keeper who _remembers_ ”.

Thomas stared at Geoffrey in disbelieve, before finally slowly removing his hand. “Fine. Take it, then”, he said, shaking his head. “I’m too soft. There was a reason Carl has put you in charge and not me. But then I’ll just retrieve it from your body when we will have ended you”.

Geoffrey didn’t answer as he took the blood, tucking it inside his coat. He went for the door, turning back to the new leader of Priwen just before he left. “You’re not soft, Thomas. You’re just not as angry as I am, more thoughtful. This is not a bad thing for a leader. Maybe you’ll be even better at it than I was”. Leaving his startled former friend behind, Geoffrey left the building.

* * *

_And what now?_ , the ekon thought as he went through the city, carefully avoiding any Priwen patrols. He had nowhere to go, as he normally lived at the Priwen headquarters or stayed in one of the outposts if traveling through the country. He had a safehouse in the outskirts, but since Thomas knew of the place, it was compromised. _That laboratory I awoke in… That she-beast mentioned she’d have to leave it, maybe I can use it at least for some nights… Buying myself some time to think about what to do…_ Relieved to have a plan, Geoffrey made his way through the town, only occasionally encountering some skals. He was lucky when he arrived at his destination, as the door with the combination lock was left open. He smiled slightly as he closed the door behind him, placing the suitcase on one of the laboratory benches.

“And what are you doing here?”, suddenly a voice sounded from behind. Startled, since he had sensed nobody inside the building, Geoffrey turned around, drawing his gun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And again a cliffhanger. I would say that I'm sorry, but actually...


	13. New Arrangements

“Julia… Julia! Wake up!”, a voice interrupted Julia’s slumber, somebody shaking her slightly at her shoulder.

Groaning quietly, Julia opened her eyes, still feeling weary. “Jonathan?”, she mumbled as she recognised the face hovering over hers. “What are you doing here?”

The doctor straightened up when he saw she was awake, his face troubled as he answered. “I wanted to see how you and McCullum are doing. Where is he?”

Julia glanced around the room, drawing on her senses as she got up. “Dunno. Probably sneaked out while I slept”, she finally said, shrugging. “He didn’t kill me, though, despite having the perfect opportunity. How unexpected”, she stated afterwards.

Jonathan frowned at that. “You seem to be awfully calm about both things – especially since you were so worried about him going on a murderous rampage when he’s alone around humans…”

Julia shrugged again. “His control seemed well enough this morning – he was adapting much faster than I did”.

The male ekon nodded slowly. “Having help with this does that, I know. So, since you are still in one piece, I assume you two got along?”, he enquired.

“It went ok, I guess. He didn’t trust me at all, but that was mutual. But as I said, his restrain was well enough. He’s also a hell of fighter, I don’t think I’d survive long if I’d ever get too close to that sword of his. It’s frightening”. She grinned maliciously “You know, ‘s bad as having a new leech running about is, I think he could be quite something, _if_ he stays decent”.

The doctor only shook his head at her. “You almost sound like you’re admiring him, Julia. And in order to end you, he would have to _catch_ you first – you’re even faster than I am”. He sighed. “Probably he went to test Arthur’s blood”.

“Probably”, the woman answered, sounding sad. “I wonder what he’ll do afterwards, though – I doubt Priwen will accept their leader like this…”, she mused.

Jonathan shrugged. “Not our problem and we’ll probably see the outcome soon enough, anyway. I didn’t only come here for McCullum, however. I already went to my rounds and wanted to ask you if you were up for some hunting?”

“You already did your rounds? What time is it?”, Julia enquired, furrowing her brow.

“Around eight to nine p.m. – I started earlier than usually and hurried so we have enough time. The number of feral skals is dropping fast now, and whilst this is a good thing, it also means that I’d better collect as many samples as possible as long as I can. Elisabeth can also provide me with samples, but I’d prefer to have something as comparison and since I find it too dangerous to keep a skal locked-up…”, Jonathan explained.

“I see. And of course I’m up for hunting, always am. Just let me gather my things, I’d rather not have to come back in case McCullum reconsiders his decision about letting me live”, Julia answered.

It took her only a few minutes to collect everything, since most of it was already packed. “Do you know where to go? I might know a place…”, Jonathan asked her as she returned, carrying her luggage.

“Don’t. It’s nice of you, Jonathan, but I’ll cope – I’ll just switch houses like before, maybe I’ll even rent a flat, with that money you’re givin’ me for the samples this shouldn’t be that much of a problem for a while since I don’t have to buy groceries. I guess I _should_ try to contact Mr Huber, the company’s money would help me immensely – if it still exists, that is…”

The doctor arched an eyebrow. “So, you finally decided to stay in London?”, he enquired.

“Aye, at least for time being. Now there’re already two leeches running about I wanna keep an eye on, not counting that ghoul lady and your Lady Ashbury. I also think that my chances to get more information about my goddamned maker are better when I stay here – especially since he’d probably pester me to no end if I just left the city”, the female ekon answered. “Do you have any new information on him, by the way?”, she enquired further.

Jonathan shook his head. “No, I’m sorry, nobody I’ve asked knew something. I’ve asked my dear lady in the last letter I wrote her, however, maybe she’ll have written something in her answer. I was also thinking about visiting the primate of the brotherhood of Saint Paul’s Stole, Usher Talltree – the brothers aren’t always exactly forthcoming with information, but they might know something. You could accompany me, if you wish”.

Julia smiled slightly. “That sounds like a plan”, she answered, moving towards the door and closing it when Jonathan and she had moved through it.

“So, who’s that Mr Huber? And what about this company?”, the male ekon enquired after a short while of silence, the two of them walking to an empty house nearby Julia had found two nights ago.

“He’s the custodian of my father’s company, he was the one who took care of everything when my parents died since I wasn’t of age back then”, Julia replied, her face troubled.

“You’re the heir of a company?”, Jonathan asked, surprised. “But you should be of age for some time now – why didn’t you accept your inheritance?”.

Julia shrugged. “’t wasn’t possible – I was still underage when that bloody war started, and afterwards journeys back to my country of birth were impossible. We exchanged some letters, Mr Huber and I, but that stopped about three years ago. I don’t even know if he’s still alive, or if the company still exists… And even if both is the case, me being officially an English now certainly won’t make things easier, I have no clue about the legal situation right now…”

The doctor furrowed his brow. “I might know a lawyer who could help you with that…”, he started.

“I’d rather not talk to an English lawyer about that, Jonathan”, Julia interrupted him. “I’m not sure how forthcoming he’d be, considering my… origin. Or how the people of the company would react if the _Irish_ raised heir comes back alongside with an _English_ lawyer”.

Jonathan’s frown deepened. “I don’t know about the people of the company, but my acquaintance surely wouldn’t have prejudices against a customer, Julia”.

The woman sighed, annoyed. “No? I highly doubt that. To put it clearly: the country of my birth wasn’t on the same side as England in this damned war, Jonathan. There are reasons any contact was interrupted and there are also reasons I try to avoid anybody catching more than a hint of my accent at any cost!”

“…Oh.”, Jonathan answered, being at a loss of words.

“Yes, ‘oh’. And all that leech stuff makes matters only worse. I guess I’ll just try to write some letters and worry ‘bout the rest later on”, Julia replied curtly, heading inside their destination to store her luggage away.

* * *

They went to the docks afterwards, splitting up after some time to cover a larger area. Jonathan had just put down another skal to collect some tissue samples as a sudden presence behind him made him tense, turning around.

“Good evening, Lord Redgrave”, he greeted the other ekon who was approaching from behind, placing his hand slowly on the hilt of Dragonbane. Glancing carefully around but seeing neither signs of Julia nor of other members of the Ascalon club, Jonathan continued speaking, his voice hard with an underlying warning. “I wouldn’t have expected to meet you in this unsavoury part of town – I hope you are not searching for me?”.

The Earl of Bristol tilted his head as a greeting. “Good evening, Dr Reid. Still straight to the point, I see. You should learn that we, as immortals, have no need for gratuitous haste. I can assure you, however, that you will not have to fear of any retribution from me or the Ascalon club for your past transgressions. You have proven yourself as a veritable servant of the crown as you eliminated the source of this terrible plague, and we do not wish to fight a servant of the crown. But your betrayal has not been forgotten and an endeavour for a renewed affiliation with the club would be unwise”.

The doctor nodded slightly. “I can assure you that renewing my membership with the Ascalon club is not my intention, Lord Redgrave. But I’m intrigued, if it is not me you are looking for, what is it then? Are you hunting skals?”

The Lord twisted his face into a disgusted grimace. “I leave the extermination of vermin to other hands, Dr Reid. No, I am searching for an ekon, a female who broke Ascalon’s law by interfering with our business and murdering at least one of our lance bearers, if not several”.

Jonathan arched an eyebrow, perturbed as he had a suspicion for whom the Lord was looking. “She did? She must be a formidable foe if the chairman himself is hunting for her”, he stated. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly as he continued. “You didn’t even come for me when I killed Lord Finney, after all”.

The other ekon pressed his lips together, his eyes a tad uneasy. “This is a different matter entirely, Dr Reid. But since your line of work brings you in contact with many people, you might have seen her – I am looking for a quite libertine dressed brunette, wearing trousers and a trench coat”.

Jonathan’s lips twitched in unease. _Damn it, Julia! If you have to pick a quarrel with Ascalon, you could at least warn me!_ “Even if I knew of that person, I cannot see why I should hand this information to you, Lord Redgrave. The members of your club have tried to kill me more than once, after all”.

The grey-haired ekon sighed quietly. “This Ekon is not only dangerous for the club, Dr Reid. She is pursuing her own kind and her existence might also endanger you or your dear Lady Ashbury. Solving this matter at the earliest convenience is in the interests of all”.

The doctor raised his eyebrows. “And how, exactly, are you planning to ‘solve’ this matter? In the same way as your servant Fergal tried to ‘solve’ the skal plague?”, he enquired.

Lord Redgrave nodded slightly. “Preferably. A transgression of our law cannot be accepted, and examples have to be made. She is a woman after all, and her kind is too fickle to be trusted with any agreements after such an incident”.

Jonathan clenched his jaw. “I see. I don’t think we have anything more to discuss, then”.

The other ekon narrowed his eyes. “You know her, do you not? I demand you to answer me, Doctor Reid! Did your first betrayal not cut deep enough!?”, Lord Redgrave commanded with stern voice.

“You _demand_ me to answer!? And by what right? You have me expelled from your club, Lord Redgrave, so I am not obliged to give you _anything_ ”, the black-haired ekon spat back with furious eyes.

His conversation partner drew in a sharp breath, wrought up. “This is an outrage! You are on Ascalon territory, and as William Marshal’s progeny…”

“Oh, stop this farce, will you?”, Jonathan interrupted him, now ultimately losing his temper with the Lord’s hauteur. “I have had the courtesy to play along with it until now, but enough is enough! You are as much William Marshal’s progeny as I am the heir to the crown! If you really think a _bloodline_ allows to demand obedience, it is _you_ who should bend his knee towards _me_!”

The Lord’s face twisted with anger, but before he could answer, he was interrupted by a voice behind him. “My, my, Jonathan. Who’d have known you can get so shirty! I really should provoke you more often, it’s quite amusing!”, a woman’s voice sounded in a cocky tone. Jonathan sighed as Julia appeared out of thin air, sitting on the low wall behind Lord Redgrave, her crossbow cocked at the chairman’s head. T

he older ekon whirled around, visibly tensing as he realised the situation. “So, you are the nefarious ekon who murdered the poor Lord Sheffield”, he stated after a short assessment, his hand slowly moving to his sword.

Julia arched an eyebrow, amused. “So, you’re the nefarious leader of that leech club”, she replied. “I’m honoured to meet your high and mightiness – I’d curtsey, but as you can see, I’m pretty occupied with sitting here and aiming that lovely crossbow into your ugly visage. I don’t know ‘bout a ‘Lord Sheffield’ though, but I did put down a leech who claimed to be of your lot – did that hurt your precious feelings, beast?”, she continued, grinning maliciously.

Lord Redgrave stirred at that, his body tense and ready to attack “Impertinence! I will see you punished for your temerities!”, he exclaimed furiously.

“No!”, Jonathan interrupted him, shadow-stepping between the two of them. “Stop your hostilities right now, both of you!”, he exclaimed, raising his hands to keep the other two ekons apart.

“Hostilities?”, Julia enquired, still sounding amused. “I thought I’ve already pointed out to you that the fact I _didn’t_ pierce that leech’s head with a bolt means that I am _not_ hostile. This might change within any second, however, him being an acquaintance of yours or not”.

“Who do you think you are to order _me_ around, Dr Reid? I have cut your past transgressions and dubious friends, but that is the last straw!”, Lord Redgrave answered furiously, having drawn his sword.

The doctor sighed heavily but didn’t budge. “Please, could both of you just take a minute and _listen_ to me?”, he enquired, eyeing the two carefully.

“I’m all ears, Jonathan. But it’d be better good, as ‘til now that murderous beast there has only given me more reasons to pierce its heart”.

The earl of Bristol only nodded silently his confirmation; his lips pressed into a tight line.

“Much obliged”, Jonathan continued, turning to Julia first. “Julia, I know perfectly well about your opinion of vampires, but Lord Redgrave has been the chairman of the Ascalon club for decades by now, and whilst I do not consent with many of their attitudes, they have seen to the stability of this city for a long time. Do you really want to risk fighting him, especially after the things you’ve told me about the conditions in Dublin?”, he enquired, trying to warn the young ekon with his eyes.

Julia eyed him suspiciously but gave him finally a curt nod. “All right. I’ll stay put, for now. _If_ he behaves”.

Jonathan sighed quietly in relief, before turning to the older ekon. “Lord Redgrave, I know perfectly well that Julia is… not easy, but could you cut her past transgressions? She is a newborn, after all, and still struggling to find her way. All she was trying to do is keeping the people of this city safe, and this is a quite honourable goal, wouldn’t you agree?”

The Lord tensed, eyeing the two ekons in front of him carefully. “With all due respect to your benevolence, Dr Reid, there are transgressions that cannot be ignored. And this ‘newborn’, as she obviously claims to be, has murdered one of our most esteemed lance bearers! I want not, and I cannot step back if one of ours is not only assaulted, but even murdered without provocation! I would also advise you to reconsider your position towards this person since I find her claim of being a newborn dubious, at best, considering her strength”, the earl of Bristol replied with narrowed eyes.

Jonathan clenched his jaw at that. “This is not a mere ‘claim’ of hers, Milord. And if you are to attack this young lady, I might see myself forced to intervene”, he replied, preparing mentally for a fight.

The older ekon took in a sharp breath at that, tensing afterwards. “Very well. I see where your allegiance lies, then. I will retreat, for now, but rest assured this will have an aftermath”, he answered, his body still tense.

“This is unfortunate, as you will find me to be a formidable foe, but I understand”, Jonathan replied, nodding curtly. “I think we should go now, would you accompany me, Julia?”, he continued, keeping his senses on Lord Redgrave.

“I will”, Julia agreed with narrowed eyes. All three of them retreated carefully, the lord heading towards the West End, whilst Julia and Jonathan were heading deeper into the district.

“So, what’s your plan for takin’ down that snob?”, Julia enquired as soon as she and Jonathan weren’t able to sense the Earl of Bristol anymore.

“I don’t have one”, Jonathan answered, turning to his companion.

“Ah, then let’s make one! You wouldn’t happen to know where his lair is? You seemed to know the bastard”.

The male ekon shook his head. “No, Julia, I won’t help you planning an attack on the Ascalon club, as I do not plan on moving against them anytime soon. Neither should you”, he answered with stern voice.

The woman’s face darkened at that. “And, why exactly shouldn’t I? You can’t order me around, Jonathan, so don’t try!”, she replied sharply. “I’ve exercised some leniency with your friends, but this murderous toff back there certainly wasn’t your friend and after his threats I don’t see a reason to cut him _any_ slack! I’m also _pretty_ sure he has fed recently, and on a human, not on rats or other leeches! To be completely honest, if you hadn’t warned me ‘bout his age, I would’ve attacked him back there!” Julia narrowed her eyes. “Or are you _afraid_ of that leech?”, she enquired when Jonathan didn’t reply instantly.

“I wouldn’t say that”, Jonathan answered calmly. “But I certainly wouldn’t underestimate him, Julia. He might not be of the heritage he claims, but he is quite influential, and his experience is exceeding ours by far. Elisabeth had warned me of the club, and my dear Lady does not give warnings without a reason! I was also sincere when I said that the Ascalon club kept the city stable. I’ve encountered several foreign and hostile ekons during my travels through the city, and the Ascalon club’s endeavours have kept them undeniably at bay. If you really want to start a quarrel with the club, then could you _please_ do me the favour to wait until the situation has stabilised?”

Julia twitched her mouth unwillingly. “He’s a murderer, Jonathan. And he keeps on murdering, I’m sure ‘f it! I can see it in his very blood!”, she stated after a short while of silence.

“I know”, Jonathan replied, sighing. “But, right now, he and his puppets are the smaller evil, Julia”.

The brown-haired ekon pondered at that. “Fair enough. I don’t like it at all, but you’ve got a point there”. She flashed her fangs, suddenly grinning maliciously. “Gives me more time to plan my assault, anyway”.

The doctor sighed, not really surprised. “Please try to be careful with them. They’re dangerous enemies”, he warned her.

Julia’s grin only widened at that. “As am I. And if his high and mightiness is really _that_ dangerous, why did he run with his tail between his legs ‘s soon as you threatened to intervene, then? That guy’s definitely more bark than bite!”

The doctor shook his head in silent exasperation. “I have warned you. There are more ways of causing harm than an open fight, but it is your head, after all”, he finally said, trying to hide his worry. Julia only snorted, and the two of them went back to easier topics for the rest of their hunt.

* * *

They split up shortly after, agreeing on skipping their meeting next night, since Jonathan was behind with his report to Dr Ackroyd due to McCullum’s transformation. Julia went hunting alone the next night, finding the number of feral skals indeed dropping. _I can almost move normally through the city, even the Priwen activity seems to be at an absolute low this night_ , she pondered as she went back to the laboratory to gather the cleaned bed sheets she wanted to use in her recent hideout. Her senses showed her nobody inside the building when she unlocked the door. She gathered the fresh sheets from the neatly made bed and was just in the process of leaving the building when a small sound from upstairs made her halt. Alarmed, she drew on her senses, raising her eyebrows in surprise as she made out McCullum entering the laboratory upstairs. Frowning, Julia headed up the stairs, her hand lying on her crossbow.

“And what are you doing here?”, she enquired.

Obviously startled, the man whirled around, drawing his gun within an eyeblink. “Leigh”, he huffed after a short moment, visibly relaxing. “Did you have to sneak up to me like that? I could’ve shot you, leech!”, he enquired after lowering his weapon.

“I didn’t sneak, McCullum, it’s not my fault if you’re inattentive. But you didn’t answer my question. Breaking in into an occupied house is quite rude”, Julia replied, arching an eyebrow.

“Occupied? I thought you wanted to leave this place! Also, the door was left open”, McCullum answered with his usual standoffishness.

“Which still doesn’t explain what you’re doing here – are you tryin’ to avoid my question?”, Julia stated, unfazed by his answer and assessing him with a hard look, her eyes widening when she noticed the suitcase he had brought with him. “Wait… why are you carrying a suitcase around? Priwen found out, didn’t they? You… you don’t have a place to go?”, she enquired, her expression softening.

“Go and mind your own business, leech!”, Geoffrey snarled, gritting his teeth angrily.

“I _am_ minding my own business, McCullum”, Julia replied, arching an eyebrow. “’s much as I appreciate Priwen’s goals, I’m still belonging to the kind they’re hunting and thanks to you they were pursuing me directly in the past. A change of leadership, especially when the previous leader was turned into a leech, therefore _is_ of interest for me!”

The hunter huffed at that, meeting Julia’s assessing gaze with an angry glare. “Aye, they found out, if you must know! Are you happy now, beast?”, he spat, upset by her ceaseless questioning.

“Hardly. But if they found out, how did you get away? You didn’t…?”, Julia enquired further, her compassionate voice getting hard at the last sentence.

“Of course not!”, the hunter exclaimed furiously. “I’d never kill my men, Leigh!”

Julia shrugged. “You never know, McCullum, you’re a leech, after all. I’m rather safe than sorry”.

“Are you? Really? And then you’re conspiring with that murderous leech doctor?”, Geoffrey replied sharply.

The woman frowned. “What do you mean by that, McCullum? If you’re referring to Jonathan’s sister, then…”

“I’m not”, McCullum interrupted her. “I am referring to that massacre your _dear_ doctor caused in that theatre when he went in there for this Stole bastard!”

Julia’s frown deepened at that. “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about – wait… was that ‘Stole bastard’ the friend of Jonathan you guys had kidnapped?”, she enquired.

“I don’t know, and I don’t care if they were friends. All I know is that the two of them were conspirators and Swansea ought to have _something_ to do with that bloody skal infestation! All those leads pointing to Pembroke can’t be a mere coincidence! And your _dear_ doctor _massacred_ my men when he went to save that bastard, only to leave him there to die in the end!”, Geoffrey spat, visibly wrought up.

Julia’s face went grim, her tone malicious and low as she answered. “I didn’t know about your men, McCullum, and I sure ‘s hell will question Jonathan ‘bout that since I don’t like this at all. But then, seriously, what _exactly_ where you expecting when you kidnapped somebody who’s obviously somehow involved with a powerful leech? A polite letter enquiring to release his friend alongside with some pretty flowers? And, anyway, you guys can’t just walk around, _kidnapping and killing_ humans! You might’ve been right ‘bout that Swansea guy, but this country has _laws_ , McCullum! And even if you ignore that, what would’ve happened if you’d been wrong!?”

“That stole coward dying was never my intention, but I’ll do whatever is needed to protect – wait… what did you just say about Swansea?”, McCullum replied agitatedly.

“I said you can’t just go and kill a human, even if you were right about him causing that epidemic”, Julia repeated with a deep frown.

“So, those bloody bastards _did_ cause this disaster! I knew it! I’ll…”

“ _Swansea_ caused the disaster, not Jonathan. Jonathan wasn’t even a leech when the whole mess started!”, Julia interrupted his rantings. “He had nothing to do with it, all he was trying to do is _stopping_ the epidemic! Hell, he’s even still doing research on that right now! It was Swansea who caused this, and Swansea alone, by some fucked up experiment with ekon blood whilst tryin’ to treat that bloody flu!”

Geoffrey went quiet at that, pondering. “That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard of – leech blood to cure a disease! But that still doesn’t explain why an ichor was created!”, he finally answered, having calmed somewhat.

“I agree. And regarding that ichor, discuss that with Jonathan himself – he’s much more able to explain that kind of stuff than I am” Julia replied, shrugging. “So, are you done with ranting, now, or shall we carry on? I kinda enjoy it!”, she continued, widening her arms and suddenly grinning widely at the man in front of her.

“You…” Geoffrey blinked in surprise. “You are a weird one, Leigh, even for a leech”, he finally stated.

“Oh, I know, you’re not the first one telling me that. Seems to run in the family”, Julia scoffed, sobering afterwards. “So, what are you planning to do, now? Are you gonna stay here?”, she enquired.

“Why would you care, _leech_?”, Geoffrey replied, glaring at her.

The woman sighed at that. “Why wouldn’t I, McCullum? I might hate leeches for being the murderous beasts they are, but I believe you’re trying to stay decent – for now, at least, and you’re finding yourself in a fucked-up situation you’re not deserving of”. She clenched her jaw. “I know how it feels to lose everything _,_ McCullum – and I know it _sucks_. So, _maybe_ , I just wanna help, if I can”. She grinned weakly. “Well, and making sure you’re not going on a murderous rampage while I’m at it certainly doesn’t hurt”.

McCullum’s face darkened at that. “And why, exactly, do you think you can play nanny on me, _newborn_?”, he asked her with scornful voice.

“Somebody has to, and since you’re quite strong you’ll also need a strong ‘nanny’”, Julia responded, shrugging.

“And you’re a saint or something? I tell you what, leech, if I see _you_ stepping out of line with only one toe, I’ll have your head!”, McCullum scolded her.

“That’s what I’m counting on, McCullum”, Julia answered darkly. “You’re not getting it, are you?”, she continued, as the hunter stared at her in surprise. “My instincts are the ones of a murderous beast, and the only reason I didn’t try harder to end myself, yet, is that I’ve found I’m quite apt in putting down other beasts, as well as ending myself would result in breaking my promise”, Julia explained, her expression stern. “Well, the conversations with Jonathan may also help to feel a little bit more… human. But fact is, if I’m ever to be giving in to that damned hunger, I _want_ to be put down. And ‘s much as I hate the fact of you being a leech now, it’ll make things certainly easier if it ever comes to that as you’re certainly capable of doing so”.

McCullum shook his head upon her revelation. “I think I’m beginning to understand Ava’s decision”, he finally said. Julia arched a brow but didn’t comment further on his statement.

“I’ve got the bedsheets cleaned the day before I found you, they’re in the dresser opposite to the bed. You can use them if you want, I’ve already got some”, she said after a short moment of silence.

Geoffrey raised his eyebrows, biting back a snarky comment. “Where are _you_ staying, then?”, he enquired instead.

“Why do you care?”, Julia answered with confused expression.

“It was _you_ who just stated she wants me to put her down if she steps out of line and knowing where your bloody lair is will certainly help. Also, I don’t see why only you should be the one asking questions, Leigh”, the hunter replied snarky.

Julia glanced aside. “You’re right. I… don’t really have a ‘lair’, though. I… kinda switch houses every night”, she finally admitted, shuffling self-consciously at the floor with one of her shoes.

“So, you not only _are_ a beast but also living like one”, the hunter stated.

“Well, I _used_ to have a room at the Turquoise Turtle, until I had to leave because of _you_. And just as I had found another place, I had to leave again because of _you_ ”, Julia snapped with narrowed eyes.

Geoffrey tilted his head at that, considering her situation for the first time. “You’re right”, he stated. “I’ll leave then. You can have this place, it’s not like I could rat you out to my men anymore, even if I wanted to”.

“Don’t be ridiculous, McCullum. I’ll cope, and where’d you go, anyway?”, Julia replied. As the man simply shrugged, his visage grim and uncompromising, she sighed. “What if we both use this place, then, as clearly both of us lack a viable alternative?”, she proposed after a short while of contemplation.

“Yeah, because this worked out very well last time, Leigh”, Geoffrey replied dryly.

“Well, last time you still were suspecting that we had shitted you ‘bout Arthur’s blood, while I thought you’d try to kill me at first opportunity. The latter didn’t happen, and considering the lack of hostility from your side, I’m guessing you’ve checked on the blood. Plus, it would certainly make things easier if we don’t share the room, this time”. She smirked. “We could move that bed from the other house to the cage room – it has such a lovely décor, it seemed to calm you down a lot last time – even your heart stopped beating!”

“Not funny, Leigh”, McCullum retorted, unamused. “But the rest of your rambling actually makes sense. At least I don’t see much of an alternative, not for the next few nights”.

“It’s decided, then”, Julia stated. “We should hurry. Getting that bed in here won’t be easy, leech powers or not, and I also need to get my things back here before sunrise”.

Getting the bed over the canal indeed wasn’t an easy task, and Julia made it only just to gather her things from the abandoned house she had wanted to use as a hideout this day. Her senses told her that McCullum had already retreated into the cage room, even though he wasn’t resting but pacing the room in small circles. Not wanting to disturb him in his thoughts, Julia just went downstairs, preparing herself for sleep. McCullum seemed to calm finally down when she lied down on the bed, his shape finally stopping its pacing and also lying down. His presence still made Julia nervous, but after some tense minutes, she finally decidedly closed her eyes.

 _If he wanted to end me, he could already have done so_ , she thought before finally drifting into sleep, unaware how much this thought resembled the thoughts the hunter had right now, as he was lying just as uncomfortable as she was in the room upstairs.

* * *

_Priwen Headquarters, just after sunrise_

With an exasperated sigh, Thomas Benson ruffled through his hair, his gaze fixed on the corpse of Angus Farell, one of Priwen’s captains, his death being caused by a bullet in his heart. A bullet shot by another captain to stop the newborn leech Farell had become from ripping most of the infirmary apart.

“And you have no clue who has turned him?”, he asked, turning around to face a tan, wiry and black-haired woman named Esther, who was said captain.

“No, but it must have been recently – I’ve seen him out and about in the daylight just two days ago”, Esther replied.

Thomas nodded thoughtfully. _Another high-ranking member of the guard turned into a leech just recently. This reeks of machination. But then, everything I’ve read about King Arthur’s blood in that book fitted to Geoffrey’s story, and as far as I am aware Geoffrey also didn’t attack any of the men yet, I have to give him that. So, is it just a mere coincidence? I somehow have a hard time believing that,_ he pondered, before stating “We need to call a meeting with all captains immediately, and we need to move our headquarters as soon as possible”.

His conversation partner frowned at that. “You’re sure about moving? Wouldn’t be the first time leeches find this place and I doubt Angus was turned _here_. Also, we can’t just move without Geoffrey’s orders and he hasn’t returned yet…”

“He won’t return, Esther”, Thomas stated with toneless voice, averting his eyes.

“What do you mean? He… he isn’t dead, is he?”, the woman enquired, obviously shocked.

Thomas shook his head gravely. “No, Esther. It’s far worse, I’m afraid”, he replied, returning his gaze towards her.

“Worse? But… oh. Oh. Oh no, that can’t be! How? And by whom?”, she asked, her eyes widened and her voice filled with terror.

“This is actually more complicated than one would think, and I’d rather not have to explain it twice, so you’ll have to wait for the meeting. I doubt Angus and Geoffrey have been turned by the same beast, however. But Geoffrey, or, more fittingly, the beast wearing his face is still out there right now. Hence the reason to move, he knows every corner of this place and I don’t feel comfortable with staying here whilst a leech has an intelligence on us like this, especially after the disaster Farrell has caused. We also need to discuss our next course of action, and who’s going to… replace Geoffrey”.

The woman gave him a funny look, stating quietly “I doubt the replacement will be much of a discussion… sir. But I’ll inform Joseph, I think he’s still in the West End, sorting out this trouble at the mansion of the Warner family”.

Thomas nodded at that, replying “I’ll talk to Rob, then. We’ll meet in four hours, usual room”. The woman nodded her agreement, before turning around and leaving the room, her shoulders visibly slumped at the bad news after a bad night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course Julia couldn't just play nice with Lord Redgrave - we'll have to see what repercussions this meeting will entail... ~~Also, I totally didn't at least partly give Julia a foreign background to excuse any language and cultural failures this story might have at least for this one character... nope, totally not~~


	14. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This and the following chapter will have a _lot_ of talking, and I apologize for that. I can promise you, however, that the chapter after those two will be the one where shit really starts to go down, just need a little time to set things up - so be patient with me, will you?

_ Julia’s _ _and Geoffrey’s hideout, the next evening_

Julia was already up when Geoffrey awoke from his uneasy sleep about one hour before sunset, as he could see her form downstairs, sitting crouched over something. Curious about what she was up to, Geoffrey headed for the stairs, finding the woman in the process of cleaning a gun.

“Morning”, she greeted him, not looking up from her work.

“It’s evening”, the male ekon stated dryly before continuing “Are you planning on a hunt?”

“Yep”, she nodded, finally shooting a glance towards him. “Care to join? I don’t know what your plans are, but I’ve found we seem to be kind of a good team when it comes to hunting and considering your hunger….”

“How would you know if I’m hungry?”, Geoffrey asked, frowning.

“You can see it when using your senses – I think I even see if a leech’s restraining himself from human blood, since both you and Jonathan seem to carry around an exhaustion the other leeches I’ve encountered didn’t have. But I’m not completely sure ‘bout that last part. I also remember, however, how _I_ felt a few days after my rebirth; the thirst seemed to be even more intense, back then”, she explained, whilst going on with her work.

“It gets better, then?”, Geoffrey enquired, sitting down on the chair in front of her.

The other ekon frowned slightly at that, pausing her cleaning for a short moment. “I don’t think that’s the right way to put it. ‘s more like you’re getting more… used to it, something you can control with the back of your mind – if you don’t famish yourself too much, that is”. She smiled tightly, returning to her work. “Direct exposure is also… far from easy. But, in the end, it _is_ also a question of willpower – Jonathan claimed to even have operated a patient without biting down. You’ll only feel this kind of improvement during the very first time of your un-life, however, that’s at least what I’ve gathered from the other leeches’ memories”.

“Huh”, McCullum huffed, watching her for a short while in silence while she carried on cleaning the weapon with practiced hands. If he was completely honest with himself, he felt lost. His evenings had usually started by a meeting with his men while heaving breakfast, planning out their night. Now, with his occupation with the guard gone, he felt… empty. “Where did you learn that?”, he finally asked when Julia didn’t resume the conversation.

“Learn what?”, the woman enquired, again shooting a short glance at him.

“That”, he said, nodding to the weapon “and also shooting like you do – you’re quite a good shot, and I haven’t seen many women that capable with weapons…”.

“Ah, that”, the female ekon replied, going quiet afterwards, busying herself with her weapon again. He just started thinking she wouldn’t answer his question, as she began to speak again. “My brother, Simon, taught me when I was a kid”, she stated, her expression unreadable.

“You’re close, then?”, the hunter replied, surprised about his own curiosity. _Why do I care if a bloody leech cares about its brother?_ He sighed quietly. _But then, I’m also a leech now. And I’ve never encountered a vampire seeming so intent on protecting humans, not in the way she does. She could’ve made a fine guard if not turned into a leech…_ But then of course he had never spent much time speaking to any vampires, save for Ian.

“We were”, Julia suddenly said, pulling the hunter from his thoughts, he only now realising that she had been quiet after his question for quite some time. “We were doing a lot of things together, despite him being four years older than me”, she continued with a soft voice.

“I’ve been only seven when he showed me how to shoot, I had been nagging on him for a year about that ever since he had gotten that air gun from our grandpa. I couldn’t even hold it properly back then, young as I was. But I got better at it, eventually. Growing helped. Took almost three years ‘til pa got scent of what we were doing”. She smiled sadly, her eyes lost in the memory. “He was mad ‘s hell. I don’t think I remember him being distraught like this over anything, yelling at my brother about his carelessness, about the _danger_ he had put his little sister in… Not that he had been wrong, but I’m still glad that grandpa intervened”.

She laughed softly, even though her voice held some sadness. “He was always a weird one, my grandpa. Instead of just calming my father like a normal person would have done, he went upstairs, coming back with a real gun and handing it to me, showing me how I could check if it was loaded and how to engage its safety. Then, he patted my brother on his shoulder, telling him he’d done a fine job by teaching me, since ‘a young lady should be capable of defending herself in this world of shadows and peril’. Pa was completely out of it, and rightly so as I was only ten, but grandpa finally had the last word. It was him who showed me and Simon how to use a real weapon after that, and also how to clean it and everything”

She sighed sadly. “He died only three months after that on one of his journeys to England, but Simon and I carried on with our training ‘til the end. Since my turning, I sometimes wonder if my grandpa knew about vampires – he had always told us stories about them, even though pa hated it, forbidding him to do so eventually”. She shook her head, her expression sad. “But then it’s not like I can ask any of them about it, anyway”.

“You can’t?”, Geoffrey enquired, frowning. “Do you fear –”

“No, nothing like that”, Julia interrupted him, her voice hard. “It’s just that it’s kinda hard to speak with the dead, McCullum. And my parents ‘s well as my brother are dead for quite some time, now. Since that fire killed them in that terrible night when I was eleven. I was told they didn’t feel it, that they were asleep, and the smoke had killed them before any of them awoke. It didn’t make it hurt less”. She went quiet for a short moment, staring at some point behind Geoffrey with clenched jaw and sad eyes. “I was lucky, I would’ve died alongside them if I’d not been sleeping at a friend that night. And my luck hadn’t ended at that, as my aunt was kind enough of taking me in, despite her and my father never getting along well, her being the illegitimate child of my grandpa an’ all. But she and uncle Paul have always been kind to me, despite me being not easy in the beginning, spoiled and traumatised nipper that I was”.

Geoffrey drew in a deep breath, not having expected her to be that open with him. _A ruse? But what for? Hell, one of these days I might even start trusting a leech – we probably had it right, it’s not only the hunger but the rest of the mind that also changes with the bloody transformation._ Still, he couldn’t help but feel compassionate with the other ekon. “I know that doesn’t mean much and hearing this never helps, but I am sorry. I wouldn’t have inquired if I had known”, he answered her earnestly after a moment of silence.

She locked her eyes with his, her gaze firm. “You didn’t _force_ me to tell you, McCullum, and I wouldn’t have done so if I hadn’t felt like it. It’s been a long time ago, and whilst I’ll never be fine with it, I’ve at least come at terms with it. One can’t change the past. But, now that I’ve told you all my _dark_ secrets, what about your family? Do you have a sweet wife waiting for you in the fair homeland? Or a sibling, maybe even in the guard?”

Geoffrey shook his head. “No. Since my occupation with the guard meant I’ve been risking my life every night, I’ve never engaged into something more serious. As for family…” he smiled tightly “… we seem to have something in common. My parents died, too, when I was young, even if not by a fire but by something yet worse”. Now it was his turn to stare into space, clenching his jaw. “When I was ten, my father had vanished for some time, leaving all of us worried sick. I still remember how happy I was when he finally returned. Mum was _so_ delightful, flinging her arms around him and cooking his favourite meal afterwards, telling him he needed to eat as he was so awfully pale…” Geoffrey could see how the realisation dawned on the other ekon’s face, her already pale skin paling even more.

“No…”, she breathed, horrified.

“He didn’t sit down to eat when she served the food, however”, Geoffrey carried on with dark voice, ignoring her interjection. “He just stared at the meal with a funny expression before stating that he hungered for something else. Then, he tore my mother’s throat out”, he stated, his voice oddly calm.

Julia stared at him, wide-eyed. “How did you get away?”, she finally asked in a small voice.

“Carl Eldritch”, Geoffrey answered with a sad smile, pained now not only by the dreadful memory, but also by the thought of how his adoptive father would despise him for what he had become. “He was the leader of Priwen, back then. My… father had left a huge blood trail in the few days he’d been a leech, obtrusive even by Dublin standards, and Dublin’s been a terrible cesspool when it comes to leeches for decades. Carl had pursued my father ‘til he reached our house, and he killed him in front of me. Taught me how to kill leeches afterwards. He also helped me hunting down my brother Ian, years later”.

“Your brother was _also_ a leech!?”, Julia asked, disbelieving.

“Aye”, Geoffrey replied darkly. “It’s ironic, really, the last of the McCullums also turning a leech… One could almost say it’s a family curse now. Ian was sixteen as my father was turned and went searching him while Mum and I stayed at home. Apparently, he found him. Was turned by him. I found out only two days after my mother’s death, when he was suddenly standing beside my bed in the dead of the night, scaring the shit out of me with those bloody glowing eyes of his. Carl was just sorting out everything for me and I was staying in my family’s house alone, I thought he’d end me like my father had done with my mammy”.

He glanced away, not bearing to meet Julia’s compassionate gaze right now. “But he didn’t. Instead, we talked, he told me about the terrible thirst he was feeling, how _hard_ it was to withstand and how he tried to keep it at bay with animals…” Geoffrey shook his head. “Carl had told me that I should come and tell him _immediately_ if I thought I’d encountered another leech, but… I didn’t. I _couldn’t_. He was my brother, after all, and I knew they’d kill him. We met regularly afterwards, young fools that we were, and of course we finally got caught by one from the guard”.

He finally looked back at his conversation partner, locking his eyes with hers. “That normally would’ve ended it, which would’ve been for the better, but… the one who found us was Ava, back then a young, unexperienced girl that had just lost her father who’d been with the guard. She wanted to tell the others, but Ian persuaded her not to. Back then I didn’t realize, but he had charmed her – I still don’t know if deliberately or not”. The hunter sighed. “But he didn’t need to use his leech powers for long. He’s always been an eloquent one, my brother, and he still seemed to be a nice boy, otherwise I wouldn’t have been foolish enough for carrying on like this, even not back then. All was well, for almost four years, the three of us having a lot of fun together just like the stupid kids we were. Ava and Ian got really close, however…”

Geoffrey shook his head. “She always claimed that they’d been only close friends, but I really can’t say if it was true. The two of them were meeting almost every night, increasingly often without me, and then it happened. Ava never told me what exactly had transpired, but it ended with her being almost mortally wounded and a young Priwen guard dead, whilst my leech brother and murderer being on the run… I did the only sensible thing, and finally went to Carl. He was more understanding then I’d ever could’ve hoped for, took me with him on the hunt. Ava never forgave us, claiming that it had been a terrible accident and that Ian had tried to fight his beastly nature ‘til the end. That she felt in her heart Ian had been a good one. I didn’t believe her, thought Ian had mesmerized her into believing things. Told myself that Carl and I had put down a beast, something not sentient anymore. Told myself that all leeches were insensitive beasts, that my brother had died the night he was turned, that he wasn’t there anymore.”

His voice broke. “But now… I don’t know anymore, Leigh. _I am_ still here, and I’m a leech, too!”, he continued, shaking his head. “When Carl and I found Ian, he didn’t even fight. Just fell on his knees, closing his eyes and waiting for me to shoot. And that I did, like so many times afterwards”. He bowed his head, closing his eyes whilst trying to hold back the emotion that flooded through him.

“I sure ‘s hell can’t give you salvation, McCullum, I won’t even tell you that time will heal your wounds or some shit like this, as I myself was tired of hearing stuff like that _very_ soon, but…” Geoffrey opened his eyes, surprised, as he felt Julia squeezing his shoulder, her gaze compassionate. “… have you ever considered that, even if your brother was still in there, you might have done him a favour? Relieving him from his pain, saving him from the terrible beast he had become, saving him from the fear to hurt anyone else he cares for? Killing him could’ve been a mercy”. He stared at her in disbelieve, both of them sitting there in silence for a while. Finally, Julia straightened herself up, removing her hand from Geoffrey’s shoulder. “But, mercy or not, since I’m a leech I’ve found the best means to deal with pain is to carry it out on others – meaning other leeches. So, are you up for a hunt or not?”, she enquired, obviously deliberately changing the topic.

Geoffrey smiled slightly at that, relieved in not having to dwell too long on these things. “I am”, he stated.

“Well, then I’d suggest _you_ go and use that fine bathroom we have so that our prey doesn’t smell us ten metres upwind – you reek – whilst I busy myself with finishing cleaning that gun, at last”. He did as she had enquired, shaking the head at her bluntness. They went for the docks after that, Julia telling him the combination of the locks as they left.

* * *

“So, are you hunting every night?”, Geoffrey enquired as they went through the silent streets, only occasionally encountering somebody since the flu was still raging, keeping most people at home. The hunter reckoned he shouldn’t be surprised by the absence of Priwen guards, as Thomas probably had to rearrange some things before sending the men out again.

Julia nodded at his question. “Aye, at least since I was turned – in the beginning it was only ‘cause I tried to get some answers, but the leeches of Dublin weren’t exactly forthcoming… I started to do it for other reasons even before I met Ava, however, as I had found what _beasts_ these leeches were”. She smiled self-consciously. “That, and that leeches are… also a blood source”, she finally admitted. “The hunting rose to a completely different level since I came to London, however – when I arrived, this city felt like a bloody warzone. I don’t even know how many of those frenzied ghouls I took down”.

The hunter nodded at that. “Aye, the bloody ghouls have been spawning like vermin – if there’s a good thing your leech doctor did, it was stopping this disaster”, he replied.

“He’s not _my_ doctor, McCullum”, Julia answered, eye-rolling.

“Is that so? You two seemed awfully close considering you claimed to not even know him when we met the first time”, Geoffrey stated, assessing her suspiciously.

“We’ve just become… friends, kind of”, Julia answered, sighing. “He’s the first leech I met who was kinda… decent. And he helped me with a lot of things, explained stuff to me, showed me that we _don’t_ have to live like beasts”.

The hunter frowned at that. “He killed his own sister, Leigh. That leech is a murderer”, he stated after a short moment.

“So, if Ava would’ve been sitting next to you when _you_ awoke, you’d not have touched her? Stop fooling yourself McCullum! You can’t have forgotten the haze a newborn is in before feeding the first time! I’m not denying that Jonathan did somethin’ terrible, neither am I saying that he’s not a monster – we all are – but he’s trying to do still some good in the world, fighting his nature better than I do! Seriously, if there’s anyone accountable for _this_ terrible incident, then it’s Jonathan’s maker by turning him into a monster and abandoning him afterwards!”, Julia replied heatedly.

Geoffrey went quiet after that, unwilling to admit that she had a point. His men hadn’t reported the leech doctor to be involved in any murders of innocents after what happened with his sister, and even though the doctor _had_ killed some guards in self-defence, he left most of them only wounded, or even fled before a fight could start – save for the incident in the Finsbury theatre, at least. “Do you know anything about Reid’s maker?”, he enquired after a short while of silence, the two of them now moving over the roofs as they were passing through one of the quarantine zones.

“Not much, I’m afraid”, the female ekon answered him, shrugging. “I know he’s powerful, and ancient. Jonathan said that he doesn’t think that he’s like we other leeches, but he didn’t go into further detail, so I’ve got no clue what he means by that. From what I’ve gathered he’s very elusive, however, and talking in riddles most of the times”.

Geoffrey pondered at that for a while, comparing this new information from what Talltree had told him about the horned one. “And who was your maker? One of the Dublin vampires?”, he enquired after a moment – he had wondered about this for some time now, after all.

Julia’s face darkened at that. “I don’t know”, she stated, her expression grim. “He attacked me from behind in a dark back alley, leaving me to awake alone on a pile of corpses – well, alone safe from the feckin’ leech who caused that pile. That ekon was my first… victim. He certainly wasn’t my maker, though, I know it from his memories. Plus, I’m pretty sure my maker’s quite a strong leech, as _I_ am quite strong, and Jonathan told me strong makers create strong progeny”.

“So, you were also abandoned? And now I’ve always thought the bloody leeches care more about their progeny, at least if willingly created”, the male ekon stated with a frown.

Julia only shrugged. “I think most of them actually do, at least ‘s far as I’ve seen from the leeches I fought and from what Jonathan has told me – we two were just unlucky. Or maybe it’s a habit strong leeches have, I don’t know”. She frowned. “I’m not even entirely sure if ‘abandoning’ fits in my case – I didn’t wake up at the same place as I was attacked, and I certainly didn’t move on my own. The leech I’ve drained also didn’t move me there, so maybe my maker did, even if I don’t see the point in that. It’s one of the things I’m gonna ask him when I finally find him, before I’ll put his head on a spike!”

Before she could say anything else, however, Geoffrey tensed beside her. “Do you see that?”, he breathed, pointing towards their left.

Julia’s brows went up as she focused her senses. “Ghouls, and many of them”, she whispered back. Cautiously, the two of them moved closer, finding eight ghouls gathered on a small square, two of them gnawing on a fresh corpse. “I’ve never seen so many of the frenzied ones in one place”, Julia whispered whilst making a fast assessment of their surroundings.

The man beside her nodded quietly. “Maybe because of all the hunters, they’re teaming up to survive”, he mused quietly, before nodding towards one of the ghouls. “You take this one out, whilst I’ll go for that one. I’ll fight them on the ground, afterwards, you back me up from up here”, he ordered, preparing his crossbow.

Julia gave him only a curt nod, not commenting on his commanding tone, before mirroring his movements. Their shots went lose at almost the same time, killing both targets instantly. McCullum dropped to the ground afterwards, having his sword already drawn. Julia used the distraction of the ghouls to change her position to another roof in the meantime. Below her, she could see the hunter fighting, using small shadow-steps to avoid the ghouls’ attacks in a most economical way, whilst carrying out parries and blows to all sides. Knowing that even he’d have problems to fight this number of enemies at once, Julia called the shadows to her aid, chaining the legs of two ghouls at once. She froze the blood of a third ghoul directly after, ending it with a single shot in its head.

In the meantime, Geoffrey had beheaded one of the other skals, retreating with a shadow-jump afterwards. The two free beasts had followed him likewise, however, now circling him whilst the two ghouls Julia had chained were fighting themselves free from the shadows. Julia watched McCullum chopping the arm of one of the beasts while she reloaded her crossbow. She just wanted to draw on her shadow veil, seeing that the two chained skals had freed themselves, as Geoffrey suddenly shot several blood spears at once towards them, the force of it sending three of the beasts to the ground. He engaged into a fight with the only ghoul that was not staggered, while Julia used the relative stillness of one of the ghouls on the ground to end it by piercing its heart with a bolt. Then, she finally drew on her shadow veil, drawing her dagger at the same time and moved to the ground behind one of the remaining ghouls which had been able to get up in the meantime. McCullum, who had dispatched his third skal, attacked now the next one nearest to him, enabling Julia to fully concentrate on her target. Burying her knife in the axillary artery of the beast, she grabbed it at its jaw, biting down in its throat and growling in delight as the blood flooded her mouth.

She was just calming down from the height the blood of the now dead ghoul had given her, as a noise behind her made her duck aside – just in time to avoid a huge claw slicing her head. Hastily, Julia shadow-jumped back, seeing herself confronted with a sewer beast larger than any she had seen before. The monster growled loudly as it missed her, baring its teeth and launching itself at her. Julia was only barely able to dodge its next attacks, trying to parry its blows with her dagger but getting hit badly as the monster disarmed her with a single blow. The next blow of the monster didn’t hit, however, as it was suddenly stopped by a blood shield around Julia. Retreating hastily, Julia saw McCullum heading towards the beast, sending a phosphorus-coated bolt into its chest as he went.

“Oi, beast! Wanna play? I certainly do!”, he taunted the monster.

Successfully, since the beast turned around, now focusing on him. Julia concentrated on healing her wounds first, watching in awe as the hunter engaged into the fight with the beast, every single one of his smooth movements obviously the result of many years of practice. Finally, her wounds were healed over, however, and Julia clenched her hand to a fist to freeze the still fighting beast. She sent a bolt towards its head directly after, whilst McCullum used the beast’s stillness to pierce its heart with his sword. Panting, they stood there quietly for a moment while the monster fell on the ground, before McCullum sheathed his sword after cleaning it on one of the dead ghouls’ clothes.

“What exactly were you trying to do with that dagger?”, he enquired as Julia picked the weapon up from the ground and sheathed it.

“I tried to parry the blows, as I wasn’t fast enough to move further away from the beast”, Julia answered darkly, fully aware of her inability when it came to blades.

“You can’t parry blows like that with that toothpick of yours, Leigh, especially not if you’re waving it around like that! And you should mind your footwork! Seriously, if I hadn’t seen you shoot, and if you wouldn’t be moving so fast, I’d wonder how you’ve survived that long after watching that”.

“Not everyone has been trained in fighting leeches since he was a child, thank you very much”, Julia replied darkly, now gathering the bolts she had used during the fight, her expression darkening even more as she found two of them being damaged.

“That is obvious”, McCullum answered in a mocking tone. “I could teach you, if you want”, he offered afterwards, sobering.

“Are you serious?”, the female ekon enquired, glancing at him. “I’m a leech, after all, so teaching me how to get even more dangerous doesn’t seem to be a good idea, does it now?”

The hunter only shrugged at that. “I’m a leech now, too, Leigh. And as far as I know you’re hunting leeches just as I do, so I see no point in denying you from much needed training”. He smirked. “And if this means I can keep an eye on you while I’m at it in case you’ve been shitting me after all, even better”, he concluded.

Julia huffed at that. “Fine with me, McCullum. So, you’re planning to stay in London? Despite the guard hunting you?” She frowned. “They _are_ hunting you, aren’t they?”, she enquired after a short moment of consideration.

“I would guess so, for both”, the hunter replied, sighing. “I don’t want to leave this city before it has been cleansed from the last remnants of this epidemic. After that… I’ll see. I know not yet my path”.

“That’d be two of us”, Julia sighed while she took out one of the syringes Jonathan had given her, screwing a canula onto it.

“What are you doing?”, McCullum enquired, frowning as she went to draw a blood sample from one of the ghouls.

“I’m collecting blood samples for Jonathan”, she explained, removing the syringe from the dead skal as she had drawn the sample.

“For the leech doctor? What for? I thought he already has an antidote! Is he running some nefarious experiments!?”

“You really think I’d help him with that?”, Julia answered, rolling her eyes and now understanding Jonathan’s annoyance when she accused him of the very same thing. “What he has is more like a vaccine, McCullum, it only helps for certain when you’re not already infected. Jonathan’s trying to find something that also helps _afterwards_ ”, she explained, drawing another sample from the Sewer beast.

“And you believe that!?”, the hunter enquired, his voice harsh.

“Yes, McCullum, I do. Jonathan gave me some very good reasons why he’s doing what he’s doing. But you can ask him about all of that yourself, I’ll meet with him in some hours anyway. I guess you could just come along, as I’ve got the feeling the two of you have some things to sort out and I’m not your go-between”. The hunter went quiet after that, clenching his hands into fists, but finally nodding his agreement. “Fine. I’ll take some more samples, and after that we could hunt a little bit more, if you’re not too busy with sulking, that is”, she stated, amused as he made a face, huffing

“I’m not sulking, Leigh. I just don’t trust you leeches, and with good reasons”.

“As you shouldn’t”, Julia replied, shrugging. “Still, if you’re having issues with Jonathan, talk to him, not to me. You’re peddling your fish in the wrong market”. They encountered two more big groups of ghouls after that, McCullum explaining some things about fighting moves but both of them agreeing that they’d probably better use a more secluded place for actual practice.

* * *

_Priwen’s headquarters, around midnight_

_Thirsty. So thirsty._ With a deep breath, Andrew Woodbead sat up and looked around. Everything seemed to be devoid of colour, the world having turned to various shades of grey. Everything but… _the red. I need to follow the red_ , he thought, his throat feeling dry and hurting. He got up from his bed shakily, walking slowly towards the door as one of the red figures also approached it from outside the room, stopping as it saw him. It seemed to make noises, but Andrew couldn’t make it out. Other things were just more important. Other things like this delicious smell or the steady, enticing beat coming from the red form. Smiling with anticipation, Andrew stepped closer to the form, embracing it and finally burying his teeth into it. _Delightful. So, so delightful_ , he thought as he gulped down the wonderful liquid filling his mouth, feeling strength flooding his body with every sip he took. And then came the memories.

_His mother, doting about his looks while combing her little boy’s hair. Dirty streets while playing hide-and-seek. A happy childhood, despite being filled with hunger and the always imminent violence that came with living at the docks. The happy smile of a woman as they married, turned into a horrible grimace when he found her dead, being murdered by one of the very first skals of the epidemic. Seeking out the guard, joining, training and finally being appointed to a patrol. Finding friends in the guard easily, one of them being Andrew. Andrew who had now just returned as one of the few survivors of an ambush led by ekons, luckily having escaped with just a few scratches and a rather nasty bite mark. Andrew, who had greeted him with a smile as he came in, just before he ripped his throat out… **You never escaped, did you? You let them turn you into one of them to save your own hide an’ now you’re that far gone already that you kill your own friends, you monster.**_

Horrified, Andrew dropped the corpse he was holding in his arms. The corpse of one of his more recent friends, a young man named Roy. _What have I done!?_ , he thought, his fingers carefully touching his teeth and flinching as he found retracting fangs. _No. NO! That can’t be! I ain’t been drinkin’ any of their blood! And I ain’t been bitten by one of those infected skals!_ But that didn’t explain the fangs away. Or how he had felt his heart stop when he lay quietly on his bed, seemingly asleep and unable to move or to call out. Or the fact he’d just drained one of his friends. Or the hunger he was still feeling gnawing at his guts. _I’m a monster, I’m vermin! I’ve gotta end this, right now, before it gets worse!_ , he thought, moving towards the nightstand next to his bed where he could see his gun lying. With determined movements, he checked if it was loaded as a thought stopped him.

**_Should I really end this? It is not my fault, after all. It is theirs! If Roy hadn’t smelled so enticingly, I hadn’t needed to hurt him!_** He shook his head. This weren’t his thoughts, this wasn’t _him_. He was still holding the gun in his hand as a cry outside of the dormitory he was sharing with several other guards pulled him from his thoughts.

“LEECH! THERE’S A LEECH IN THE DORMITORY!”

Since the call seemed to come from the other side of the building, it was clear the caller didn’t mean Andrew. _Another one!? Also one ‘f my patrol? But how? I must help them!_

**_But they’d kill me if I do. They’d end me, even if I help them. Those petty mortals would see me as a mere beast, so why should I help them? It’d be more wise to side with my turned comrades, wouldn’t it? We could hunt them down together, turn the ones we think worthy, so they’ll follow us in our dance to the tune of the heartbeats, so they follow us in our dance of violence and blood!_ **

With an exasperated groan, Andrew grabbed his temples. _That ain’t my thoughts! This ain’t me! This is the monster I’ve become, it oughta be! Doesn’t even sound like my own thoughts, but more like… a woman’s voice. I must end this. Now!_ Slowly, he raised the gun to his temple.

**_But what would I accomplish with that, with my own blood spilled? I shouldn’t spill my own blood. Someone has done this to me, and I need to find him. I need to rip him apart, choke him with his own entrails and bath in his blood! No. I’m not going to end myself. I’m going to find whoever did this to me and then I’ll have my revenge. And when this is said and done, I’ll keep it up with everyone who ever crossed me!_** And with that, Andrew moved towards the window, ignoring the cries and shots of the fight behind him and jumped down onto the street, vanishing into the night. His gun still lay on his nightstand, his thoughts about ending himself all but forgotten.  


	15. Arguments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, second chapter of talking. I'd have called it 'calm before the storm' if the conversations in here wouldn't have been the exact opposite of 'calm'...

_Pembroke hospital, around midnight_

Sighing heavily, Jonathan put down the patient chart he had just been reading as a small thud on the balcony announced Julia’s arrival like he had expected. The patient in question had vanished without giving any notice of departure, and whilst this happened occasionally, Dr Ackroyd was growing worried as this was already the fourth patient who left like that in only two nights, none of them having a constitution to be safely moving on their own. So, he asked Jonathan to make a small investigation if he should find the time, as he had ‘made a habit of sticking your big nose into other people’s business, anyway’, how his colleague had put it. So far, the ekon hadn’t been able to find much, but then he hadn’t really looked into it, yet. As he moved towards the balcony door, he found to his surprise not only one, but two forms hovering behind it. _McCullum. I hope he’s not here to create a turmoil, I do not have the nerves for that right now._

“Why do I have the feeling that I shouldn’t be surprised you’re having the hunter tagging along?”, he greeted his newest friend whilst opening the door.

“I thought the two of you need some quality time spent together, since he didn’t stop ranting ‘bout things he thinks you’ve done”, Julia replied, grinning widely. “You wouldn’t mind riling Jonathan up a little bit, would you, McCullum? It was so funny to watch him losing his temper last time”, she stated mockingly whilst stepping in.

“I won’t let you in here if you want to cause a commotion again, hunter. This is a hospital, and there are patients here who need peace to recover!”, Jonathan stated firmly, stepping in front of the door to block the hunter from coming in.

“They also need a proper doctor instead of a leech”, McCullum replied tartly.

“Ah, that’s what I’ve hoped for. You two are better than a theatre play! But come on now, Jonathan, let him in. The things we wanted to discuss aren’t ones I’d want to be overheard by anyone. I promise I’ll help you throwin’ him out if he starts disturbing patients”, Julia intervened, serious despite her mocking tone.

“Very well”, the doctor agreed after a short moment, stepping aside to let the other man in and closing the door behind him. “But I would highly advice against showing yourself outside of this room, hunter, as the staff still remembers your face”.

“So, I would assume you have had a look on the king’s blood?”, Jonathan enquired, leaning himself against one of the pillars inside the room, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“Aye, I have”, McCullum grumbled, staying uncomfortably right next to the door in front of the skeleton that was placed next to Jonathan’s bed and glaring daggers at the doctor.

“Before the two of you’re getting all too comfortable, I’ve got a question for you, Jonathan”, Julia broke the tense silence, dropping herself carelessly on Jonathan’s bed.

“What is it?”, Jonathan asked, arching an eyebrow.

“McCullum”, Julia answered in a suddenly sharp voice, narrowing her eyes after glancing shortly at the tense hunter, “has told me you’ve caused a massacre at the theatre when you went there for that friend of yours. Is that true?”

The doctor’s expression darkened at that. “These men had _abducted_ a friend of mine and I could already sense that he was in quite a bad state, needing urgent medical attention when I arrived at the theatre. I have not been in the mood to give them any lenience when they were actively _trying to kill me_ and hindering me of saving my friend! And I have not touched anyone who hadn’t attacked _me_ first!”, the doctor defended himself in an unyielding voice.

“You’ve _killed_ humans, Jonathan! You could at least have _tried_ to only knock them out!” Julia spat furiously, her relaxed posture becoming tense. McCullum stayed quiet, but his glares were saying everything.

“As I did in war, as every soldier did in war! These men have brought war right to my _home_ , Julia, and I _will not_ apologize for defending myself! I have exercised lenience already, sparing all I could outside of that theatre!”, Jonathan replied, becoming increasingly irritated.

“Don’t you dare comparing you leeches to soldiers, Reid! My men are keeping this city safe, sacrificing their lives in order to keep the heinous activities of _your_ kind at bay!”, McCullum intercepted furiously.

“It is also _your_ kind now, hunter! And for an association who claims not to kill humans, your men did quite some damage whilst _torturing_ Edgar! Not to mention that you _actively_ hindered my research on this epidemic, causing a delay of me finding the source of this menace of several days! Days, in which the humans you are claiming to protect were _dying_!”, Jonathan replied, his voice now also rising.

“You could have treated Swansea, _doctor_! But instead, you just left him there to die! Apparently, that is what friendship means to leeches!”, Geoffrey spat back in the same moment as Julia intercepted furiously “Wait, your men _tortured_ Swansea!? Are you nuts!?”

Jonathan ignored her interjection, replying furiously. “No, I could not! You have obviously no clue of the severeness of the damage your men had caused – he was bleeding internally, having several broken rips and a punctured lung! No physician in this world could have saved him, not as a human. And I couldn’t bring myself to turn him into an immortal, especially not after finding out what he had done!”

McCullum blinked at that, apparently at a loss of words for the moment. “You still haven’t answered my question, McCullum”, Julia interrupted their silence icily. “Have you really tortured that man?”

“I had given orders to interrogate him with any means necessary to find the cause of the epidemic. He had deserved a little punishment, but I did not mean him to die”, McCullum answered sternly, turning around to her with clenched jaw.

“I can’t believe it, both of you!”, Julia exclaimed furiously, waving her hands wildly.

“I’ll do whatever is needed to protect humans from the vampire’s vile machinations, Leigh”, the hunter answered sternly, while the doctor’s eyes were flashing furiously.

“’Interrogation’? Is that what your organisation calls torture these days? Have you ever considered that Edgar might have been more forthcoming with information if you had asked him like a normal person?”, Jonathan intervened, still wrought up.

“Cut that shit, leech. We both know that Swansea was conspiring against this country, probably as a pawn of William Marshal! You cannot hide the truth from me, Leigh has already told me that stole bastard had caused the bloody epidemic!”, the hunter replied furiously.

“And here you’re doing it again, McCullum – you are jumping to conclusions, bending the facts and adding things until they fit into _your_ twisted episteme! Dr Swansea may have caused this epidemic by performing heedlessly an utterly unethical research, but he was _neither_ planning to cause a disaster like this, _nor_ was he working on William Marshal’s behalf! He was not even ever in contact with that ekon!”, Jonathan replied, only barely keeping his composure.

The hunter huffed in disbelief; his face angry. “That’s what you’re claiming, leech. Until now, I have not seen any proof of your claims. Instead, I find _you_ conducting some nefarious research on this epidemic, despite your claim to have found the antidote!”

Jonathan pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling whilst trying to calm himself. “You’re right”, he said after a moment, surprising both of the other ekons. “My explanations were hardly sufficient. Sit down, McCullum, this will take quite some time and I’d ask you to be as open-minded as possible for you, as some of the things that transpired are… unusual”.

Jonathan went to one of the cupboards, gathering the most important notes he had regarding the blood of hate while the hunter sat slowly down next to Julia after giving the doctor a malicious glare. The doctor started his explanations at the very beginning, with him waking up in the mass grave, explaining his findings step by step, even though he skipped the personal or unimportant parts. To his surprise, McCullum took the information about Jonathan’s maker Myrddin Wyllt unexpectedly well, especially after Jonathan showing the two of them the information from the brotherhood on the horned vampire he had found. His description of the red queen brought him a much more disbelief, however, which subsided only somewhat when he described her malicious way of speech.

“So, what has happened to the red headed friend of yours you had interrogated me so desperately about at the cemetery? You ended her?”, McCullum enquired when Jonathan ended his explanation.

The doctor hadn’t skipped Elisabeth’s part in Edgar’s experiment, emphasising the fact she had not known of Swansea’s activities instead – he suspected Julia had already told the hunter about it, and, even if not, McCullum would ask eventually where Edgar had got the blood from, anyway. “No”, he answered in a firm voice, already anticipating the furious glare the hunter gave him and continuing speaking before the other ekon could interrupt him. “She shows no symptoms anymore, McCullum, as she had been treated with Marshal’s antidote more than a hundred years ago. It is true that she is a healthy carrier, however, which is the reason why I am in the need of infected samples in order to create a more sufficient cure for the condition she suffers”.

“That leech is an even greater danger to mankind than any other, Reid, and you’ve seriously let her live!?”, the hunter asked, wrought up.

“That I did, McCullum. Elisabeth is also a victim here, a _patient_. And I am sworn to _heal_ patients, not to kill them!”

McCullum shook his head in exasperation. “I should’ve known that you’re not to be trusted in cleansing this menace – but if she’s been cured, where did your leech lady get the cure from? Where was she infected in the first place? Are there more leeches running about with that ‘taint’, how you call it, lingering in their blood!?”, he enquired furiously.

“Those are interesting questions McCullum asks here, Jonathan! You’ve never told me how your fancied one got infected…”, Julia added with thoughtful gaze.

Jonathan sighed, knowing his answer would confirm McCullum’s narrow-minded view on things. “You weren’t entirely wrong when you suspected William Marshal to be involved in this, McCullum”, he finally admitted, only barely keeping himself from rolling his eyes as the hunter smirked at his statement.

“I knew it! This whole affair reeked of the machinations of that particular leech! Was that beast trying to end what he had started in 1666?”

“It is not how you think it is, McCullum. Marshal had never started the disaster of 1666, he was the one ending it. But he became infected when he did so, as in contrast to me, he had no antidote at hand at that point of time. I can only imagine what massacres he had caused afterwards – you know that probably much better than me. The point I am aiming at, is, however, that Marshal infected his progeny, who had sought him out when she sensed his pain – my dear Lady Ashbury, to you probably better known as Elisabeth Blackwood”.

“Your redhead is _Blackwood_!? You’re seriously protecting this murderous beast!? Do you have any idea what crimes that monster has committed, what bloodbaths it had caused!?”, McCullum exclaimed, more than wrought-up.

“I have an idea about it”, Jonathan replied sternly with clenched jaw. “But right now, she is one of the most considerate women I have ever met, and she was not accountable for her own actions, McCullum. From what Julia has told me, you should have a pretty clear idea what an infection with the blood of hate does with one’s mind. She was, however, as I told you, cured in 1794 with the antidote Marshal had found. The intelligence Priwen has gathered should be able to confirm that, as Blackwood hasn’t been involved in any massacre since then”. The doctor shook his head. “I cannot imagine what kind of willpower it needed of Marshal to perform this kind of research whilst being infected himself. But he did, and he gave the only dose of the cure he had to his progeny, healing all of her symptoms when she finally took it”.

“So, what, there’s not only a leech running about with that threat in his blood, but two, and one of them is nuts?”, the hunter enquired harshly.

Jonathan shook his head. “No. As Elisabeth came back to her senses, she constrained Marshal with his allowance. When I met him, he had been incarcerated for decades, feeding only on the little portions of blood Elisabeth gave him from her own. He was astonishingly sensible, considering everything, and I had a quite interesting conversation with him. In the end, my dear Lady had to end him, however, as the antidote was not working on him and she considered his continued existence as too much of a threat”. He drew in a sharp breath, pained by the memories of the events in the crypt, by the thought how close he had been to loosing Elisabeth. “I could barely stop her from throwing herself into the flames afterwards, McCullum, so don’t you _dare_ of accusing her to be evil-minded”.

The hunter glared angrily at him, before muttering “You’re not going to give her hideout away, are you?”, he finally enquired.

“Hardly”, Jonathan answered curtly.

“At least that beast Marshal’s finally gone. _If_ you’re telling the truth, leech. But if I’ll ever encounter your red-headed friend, I _will_ end her. I don’t care how ‘considerate’ that leech pretends to be, she’s a monster and her blood’s a threat to mankind as long as it carries that taint!”, McCullum carried on.

“If you ever dare doing that, hunter, be sure _I_ will see _you_ to be ended”, Jonathan warned him, his voice dangerously low and his eyes menacing.

“Well, this won’t be needed if you’re finding a cure for her first, will it now?”, Julia intercepted, breaking the tension between the two men somewhat. “And that’s why I’ve got some more samples for you, Jonathan”, she added whilst getting up and placing several small bottles onto one of the desks. “Do you think we can go hunting for more of them tomorrow, or are you still too busy?”, she enquired, ignoring McCullum’s glares completely.

The doctor nodded curtly, obviously still wrought up. “I think so, Julia, as I will have to do some investigations at the docks, anyway”, he stated.

“Fine. Then I’d suggest the hunter and I leave now – I think you’ll have to start with your shift soon, anyway, and I don’t want to be a hindrance”, Julia replied, glancing meaningfully at McCullum who got up in turn, obviously not satisfied with the answers he had gotten from Jonathan. She managed to nudge the hunter out of the door to the balcony, nevertheless, leaving a worried Jonathan behind.

“You really believe what that leech was claiming?”, McCullum enquired as they went through Whitechapel.

“If he’d be lying, he’d come up with something more palpable, don’t you think?”, Julia answered, turning towards him. The man only grumbled something incomprehensible, obviously not convinced. Julia decided to let it go, for now. The hunter would either come around by himself, eventually, or never, and honestly, maybe it even was for the better if he didn’t trust Jonathan like she did – the man was a leech, after all.

* * *

The next few days went by in a blur, spent by Julia accompanying Jonathan during his rounds and gathering samples, followed by hunting and training with McCullum, with whom she got along surprisingly well – probably due to their shared opinions regarding vampires. The hunter showed quite some interest to her insights into the machinations of Dublin’s vampires, whilst she listened to the stories of his various hunts with likewise interest, even though she could tell he was holding back any sensitive information about the Priwen guard. Julia wasn’t entirely sure how the hunter spent the beginnings of the nights, as he didn’t accompany her and the doctor (which was probably for the best, since on the only occasion the two of them had met after their conversation in Pembroke, both men had been incredibly tense), but she suspected the newborn ekon was keeping an eye on his former men, as he even kept on stalking Priwen patrols during their hunts, getting the two of them repeatedly in trouble whenever a guard spotted them.

Almost a week had passed by since the conversation at Pembroke, and Julia was in a good mood as she waved her goodbye to Mr Crossley, heading for the park to see if she’d find some feral ghouls there. The man had looked healthy when she had engaged into conversation with him, keeping him from getting home to give Jonathan enough time to coax Venus and swap the new bottle with poison the malicious woman had bought before. The doctor had been quite worried about Venus already getting new poison, as this meant she was administering quite a high dose which would’ve been probably already lethal, but at least this had given Julia and him the opportunity to find Venus’ probable supplier, a quite shady figure in high debts after losing a lot of money during the war. She was pondering on possibilities to get the mischievous woman finally where she belonged to, as a familiar figure behind one of the posh houses, nearby to the courtyard she had encountered the rat woman, made her halt.

“I wouldn’t have expected _you_ here!”, she stated, stepping closer and smiling warmly.

“Leigh! By god, why are you _always_ sneaking up to me like that!? One of these days I’m really going to shoot you because of it”, the man she had addressed replied, whirling around, obviously startled by her sudden appearance.

“And again, I wasn’t sneaking, Geoffrey. Seriously, you’re sometimes surprisingly inattentive to your surroundings for a vampire hunter – use your senses!”, Julia answered him, slightly irritated.

“I was, stop playing games with me”, the hunter grumbled half-heartedly, before returning his gaze to the house he had been watching before. Julia only shook her head, deciding to let it go as her coresident clearly was in a foul mood.

“So, what are you doing here? I’ve never got the feelin’ you like the West End very much and there also aren’t many ghouls around in this part of town”, she enquired, stepping next to him and giving the house he seemed to be so interested in a curious glance. To her surprise, she could make out at least three undead inside, two of them seemingly sitting whilst the third was moving at a slow pace.

“I’m observing Ascalon”, the hunter replied curtly, his gaze not leaving the house.

“ _That’s_ Ascalon’s hideout?”, Julia exclaimed, raising her eyebrows in surprise. “I’d have thought it’d be something more… secluded”.

“No, those bloody leeches are hiding in plain sight”, McCullum answered, shooting a short glance at her. Julia frowned in thought.

“But if you know of their hideout, why hasn’t Priwen…”, she started, but was interrupted by the ekon next to her.

“We have – and it was a disaster. Those leeches are strong ones, and many, and our endeavours had many capable men killed. Which, apparently, didn’t stop my successor from trying again”. He clenched his jaw, his hands balled into tight fists. “It ended badly, again – I’ve heard one of those bloody beasts bragging how _sweet_ the blood of the hunters that invaded yesterday tasted”.

“Shit”, Julia replied. _So that’s the reason he’s so upset._ “But your presence here can’t be a coincidence…”, she stated, sighing as she saw the man’s stubborn face. “You did it again, didn’t you?”, she enquired, torn between compassion and irritation.

“I don’t have to bloody report to you, Leigh”, Geoffrey answered tartly.

“No, I even know without that ‘bout your foolishness”, Julia replied, rolling her eyes. “Seriously, how often have they shot you by know? Three times? Four? Your men are more than capable of handling themselves, McCullum, and stalkin’ them like you do won’t do you any good! And even ignoring the danger for _your_ well-being, what about theirs? People get to bleed in fights, you know!?”.

The hunter huffed at that, his gaze stern, but softening somewhat as he saw the worry in her eyes. “I know, Julia. But the reduced Priwen presence is worrying me, obviously rightfully so”, he finally replied, gesturing towards the building.

Julia sighed at that. “And what do you think stalking them will do about that? We might be doing the same as they do, but you have to keep in mind we aren’t on the same side anymore, at least not in their books. Stop this, for your and for _their_ sake!”

“I am”, the male ekon retorted, giving her a dark glare. “Which is the reason I’m observing Ascalon. To do what my men are unable to”.

“I… don’t think that’s a very good idea”, Julia said, treading carefully.

“And why would you think that? These leeches with their vile machinations and puppet plays might be even more dangerous than those feral ghouls”, the other ekon replied, raising his eyebrows.

“I know”, the female ekon admitted, sighing. She really didn’t like what she had to say next. “But, right now, they’re also keepin’ more ferocious beasts at bay. They’re keepin’ the city stable, ‘s much as I loathe to admit that”.

Geoffrey blinked in surprise, taken aback. “This doesn’t sound like you, Leigh, but awfully like the leech doctor! You shouldn’t let his honeyed words get into your head like that – don’t be fooled, I know as a fact that he’s with that underhanded lot”, he snapped sharply.

“No, he’s not. I’ve seen him and Lord Redgrave talkin’ and the threats of his high and mightiness made it _very_ clear that the two of them are _not_ on good terms!”, Julia snapped back.

“Yeah, just shelter that bastard from blame like you always do, _leech_. I know what I’ve seen! And I sure as hell won’t stand just idly by while these bastards kill _my_ men!”

“So, what? You dash into battle like a glorious knight!? If you’d stop your feelings dictating your actions an’ start actually _thinking_ with that pretty head of yours, you _would_ realise that attacking Ascalon right now ‘s a stupid move, and not only for the stability’s sake!”, Julia replied, gesturing wildly towards the fancy building. “How many ‘f them are in there!? Three? Maybe a fourth one we don’t see? I don’t believe that these are all of Ascalon’s members, Geoffrey! Priwen’s hunt made most of these leeches flee the country and attacking them right now would leave most of the lot unharmed and able to rebuild – not to mention they’d be warned of your existence! If you wait, however, you could take them down at once! _We_ could, as I’d happily assist you with that ‘s soon as it is reasonable!”, she continued furiously.

Geoffrey huffed at that, similarly furious. “Or, attacking them now in their weak state will make the rest of them a much easier target as soon as they return! That doctor’s words are getting into your head, Leigh!”

“Fine. Go ahead, then, an’ risk your dumb arse in a rash measure! But don’t expect _me_ to participate! It’s not like the lion’s in its den, anyway, but if you really want to attack now so they’re warned – so be it!”, Julia spat before turning on her heels and rushing away.

* * *

Geoffrey glared at her vanishing form darkly, before returning his gaze to the house. _So Lord Redgrave is not in, then?_ , he pondered, whilst beginning to round the building to get a better idea of possible entrances. There were plenty, as the house had various balconies and the hunter did not feel reluctant at all to smash one of the windows if needed. Needing an invitation to enter the building also wouldn’t be a problem, since both he and Julia had found that these were only needed for private buildings occupied by hum _human_ inhabitants. The conversation with Julia had left him angry and on edge, but finally, after observing the building for another hour without any significant changes regarding its inhabitants, McCullum decided to retreat for this night.

 _It’s not like attacking now without their bloody leader inside will help much_ , he thought, sighing. He had to admit that Julia had had some point. _Still, attacking that leech society now will make cutting the snake’s head off much easier, which will thereafter make taking down the rest of the leeches also easier._ Maybe he should try talking to her again, in a more calmly manner – she was riled easily when she was snapped at like he had done, but normally saw reason when confronted with sound arguments. Content with his new plan, he headed for the docks to this Cox person Julia had him introduced to, as she was able to provide him with new bolts – he suspected the woman had her gang stealing them from his boys, but as much as he despised this idea, he didn’t have the means to produce the bolts by himself right now. He went to his and Julia’s hideout afterwards, glaring angrily at the Pembroke hospital which was buzzing with patients as he went by.

He found the hideout empty, but since Julia’s belongings were still present in her neatly tidied up room, he reckoned she went to a lone hunt to get rid of her anger. He grew somewhat worried, however, when his coresident still hadn’t returned when the sun started rising. _Maybe she’s been too far away to make it in time – biding her time in an abandoned building or something_ , he pondered before finally going to bed as he couldn’t do much right now, anyway. Two hours after sunset, Julia still hadn’t returned, however. _Where is she? Probably off with that bloody leech doctor!_ , he mused, whilst finally getting himself ready to leave as he reckoned she’d not be returning anytime soon. He couldn’t help but worry about her on his whole way to the Ascalon club, however, his dark thoughts only interrupted as he found the glass of one of the balcony doors of the club’s house to be shattered, a distinct smell of blood coming from inside the dark building. Ekon blood. He drew in a sharp breath, focusing on his senses which showed him the insides of the building being splattered with blood, him only making out one weakly moving undead form on the ground floor. Intrigued, he shadow-jumped onto the balcony, his fangs extending as he was hit by the heavy scent of blood lingering in the air when he stepped into the first room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: Uhm... I just edited some minor mistakes in the old chapters and apparantly, I've accidently uploaded "Revelations" an additional time while doing so... I've already deleted the double post, but just in case anyone saw a chapter suddenly appearing and vanishing and wondered about it, that's the reason. Sorry :'D


	16. Blood and Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, Julia.

It took a while, but after wreaking her anger upon a group of skals which proved to be quite some trouble due to their new habit of forming large groups, Julia had finally calmed down. _I should talk to Geoffrey._ She still had Jonathan’s warnings in mind, especially about the club being a dangerous foe – which was the reason she hadn’t wanted to engage into a fight with them tonight, but Geoffrey was also right. _Which I would’ve told him if he hadn’t been busy with scolding me_ , she thought, her anger spiking again. Releasing a heavy sigh, she began moving towards the hideout she shared with the hunter, lost in deep thoughts. As she drew near, her senses suddenly alarmed her of a vampiric presence, however. Eyeing her surroundings, Julia went onto one of the nearby roofs, cautiously moving closer to the slow heartbeat. She found it belonging to a well-dressed ekon, who was standing on a small square, holding a frail looking woman in his arms whilst softly caressing her neck with kisses.

Alert, Julia gave her surroundings an assessing glance. Just before she could draw upon her shadow veil to sneak behind the other ekon, however, his head snapped up, his gaze focusing on her. He grinned maliciously whilst positioning the oddly still woman between Julia and his own body.

“Huntress. We have been waiting for you. Common courtesy would expect me to ask if you want to share the meal, but I assume your uprising has depraved your taste”, he greeted her in a mocking tone, before he buried his fangs into the neck of the woman he was still holding in his arms.

Furious, Julia called on her shadows to chain him, jumping on the ground to wriggle the woman out of the monster’s grasp since she was blocking her line of fire. Before she could do that, however, she suddenly felt something sharp hitting her from behind, moving through her body before coming out through her belly. Blinded by pain, Julia doubled over, feeling her body being penetrated by several more stabs from behind. The sudden blood loss left her light-headed, the thirst raging inside her head. She could feel a presence moving behind her whilst the ekon in front of her had freed himself from her shadows and indulged himself in the blood of the helpless woman he had been holding in his arms. Julia tried frantically to get up to stop him, but to no avail. Suddenly, she felt somebody jerking her own head up and burying fangs into her throat. Only seconds after, she fainted as her body fell into regenerative stasis due to her blood loss and to heal her severe injuries.

* * *

Julia awoke in a haze, the thirst burning inside of her and making it almost impossible to think of anything else. She could see somebody moving in front of her, his blood vessels were glowing enticingly whilst the sound of two slow beating hearts alongside with several smaller, faster hearts called to her like a siren’s song. Somebody behind her was saying something, but she couldn’t make it out over the sweet music of the heartbeats. She groaned, trying to move towards the blood source in front of her, but finding herself unable to. She could feel her extracted fangs itching as the form in front of her suddenly forced her mouth open, letting a single drop of blood fall on her tongue before holding a squirming, furry little thing filled with blood against her mouth. Growling deeply, Julia buried her fangs inside it, drinking greedily. The blood flooded her with the familiar relief, with an underlying touch of something stronger, more delightful than a rat blood should be. The rodent was soon replaced by another one, which was drained as fast as the first.

“Pathetic”, sounded a voice, now finally understandable as Julia finally came back to her senses.

Slowly blinking, she retreated her fangs from the now completely drained rodent, taking in her surroundings. She seemed to be in some sort of cellar, since she could see some storage racks in front of a brick wall, and the air was smelling stale and moist. In front of her was the ekon that had been waiting for her at the ambush, dropping the rat he had been holding to her mouth before.

“Now, now, Lord Hamersley, there is no need to be discourteous towards our visitant. Her behaviour might be shockingly unduly, but this should not lead us to forget our good breeding”, a voice next to Julia sounded.

She tried to look at its owner but was stopped by a metal strip that was fixing her head, making any movements impossible. Only now Julia realised that she was completely restrained, her arms being fixed above her head. Additional restraints at her head, neck, chest, belly and legs made sure she wasn’t able to move more than one or two centimetres, leaving her to stand helplessly on her toes, the restraints chafing her uncomfortably. “You! What is this sick game!?”, she hissed angrily, as she finally recognised the scent from the ekon next to her.

“You will soon come to the realisation that this is no game, huntress”, Lord Redgrave answered her jovially, now finally coming around so she could see him.

“What is you want, leech!?”, Julia snarled back, unfazed.

“I would imagine this to be obvious”, the Lord replied, cocking his head and assessing her with an amused gaze.

“Stop being enigmatic, beast. If you want me to apologize for sending one of your lot where he belongs to, you can shove it up your arse! I won’t feel sorry for ending a monster”, the female ekon spat, assessing the part of the room she could see carefully. Besides the shelves at the wall which seemed to contain some bulky things wrapped up in fabric, there was a desk with a single chair in front of her, as well as some odd-looking lamps. On the desk was a small pipette in a water glass, alongside with an empty wine glass, a sharp looking knife and an urn which seemed to contain a flask with blood as Julia’s senses told her. She could hear the small rustling noises and heartbeats of several rats behind her. _Nothing that helps me right now_ , she thought, focusing again on the two ekons in front of her. Lord Redgrave had stepped closer and was now lowering his face to hers, blocking her view.

“Whilst I would expect an apology from a more civilised creature, I am aware one of _your_ breed will be disregardful of common manners, huntress”, he said in a low but menacing tone. He straightened himself up again and began to circle Julia with a slow pace. “You could save yourself from quite some adversity if you would cooperate with us, young ekon”, he stated calmly.

“That’d be much easier if you’d tell me what you actually want, your high and mightiness”, Julia replied tartly, assessing the other of the two ekons who had stayed in her field of view – Lord Hamersley, if she remembered correctly – in the meantime. She could see the strength his recent feeding had given him circling through his veins, his pale eyes being bloodshot.

“I wish you to tell me the whereabouts and schemes of your master”, Lord Redgrave suddenly whispered in her ear from behind her, pulling her from her observations.

“My master!? What are you talkin’ about? I don’t have any master!”, Julia exclaimed, rattling at her restraints.

“Well, this reaction was to be anticipated”, the Lord replied with feigned disappointment, now again in front of Julia and tracing the outline of her jaw with one of his fingers. “I would have expected you to preconceive a more elaborate tale, however – the assistance you had to have whilst locating the members of our association is obvious, after all”. He sighed mockingly. “It would seem you are forcing our hands, huntress – you have been warned”, he continued, taking the knife from the table.

Julia tensed as he stepped closer with a vicious grin, raising the knife to her bare arm – the sleeves of her blouse seemed to have been hitched up during the time she had been unconscious. “There is nothing you want to tell me?”, he enquired whilst slightly pressing the blade against the soft skin of her lower forearm. Julia only answered him with a furious glare – it wasn’t like she had another answer to his questions, anyway. “So be it”, he stated with smug voice.

With a slow movement, he made a deep, long cut at Julia’s forearm, blood flowing from the wound immediately afterwards. Julia suppressed a pained groan as the wound was burning painfully. He repeated the procedure at her other arm and brought the blade to his lips afterwards. “Delightful”, Ascalon’s chairman murmured with a pleased sigh, shuddering slightly. “Such pure blood you have – what a waste”, he stated, placing the knife back on the desk. Julia only growled, gritting her teeth. “I trust you to proceed as we have discussed, Charles”, Lord Redgrave said afterwards, ignoring Julia’s growl and turning to the other ekon in the room. “Do not let yourself be lulled by her mellifluous words – women can be devious creatures, especially immortals”.

“Of course, Milord”, the other ekon answered, bowing. Without another word, Lord Redgrave left, leaving Julia and the other ekon alone.

“So, do all Lords have hidden cellars to chain up ladies, _Charles_?”, Julia enquired when she heard Lord Redgrave’s steps dying away, a door having closed behind him.

“Silence, trull. You are only to speak when you’re asked to”, the ekon replied sharply.

“Ah, come on, a lil bit of conversation can’t hurt – or are you too shy to speak with a lady like me?” Julia answered cockily, trying to test her binds inconspicuously in the meantime.

“You will stop with your impertinences soon, fledgling. It is only a matter of time”, Lord Hamersley stated calmly while renewing the cuts at Julia’s arms since the old ones had already healed over.

“And what exactly are you trying to achieve with those tiny cuts? If you wanna torture me you should try harder, don’t you think? Not that I _want_ to be tortured…”, Julia went on, now pulling on her binds harder.

“This won’t help you, newborn. These restraints were made to hold immortals far older than you are. But, carry on if you wish so, it is quite entertaining to watch your struggles”, the other ekon said, placing himself in the chair next to the desk and ignoring Julia’s previous statement completely. Julia gritted her teeth and threw herself against the binds with all force she could muster – which wasn’t much due to her positioning and limited room to move. After some minutes of futile struggling, Julia finally gave up, glaring at the amused Lord. “I have told you so”, he smirked, again renewing her cuts, this time taking a short additional bite at her neck, his teeth feeling like small daggers in Julia’s throat. “Ah, his lordship has been right, the blood of yours is of a most exquisite flavour” he hummed delighted.

“Aww, you know how to make compliments – but as I’ve been so generous, you as a gentleman should let me try yours, shouldn’t you?”, Julia replied with a rough voice, the pain and the thirst beginning to strain her. The ekon didn’t answer and also ignored her next comments, which led Julia to finally give up after he had cut her again.

_They’re bleeding me, making me hungry_ , she realized. _But what for? Just weakening me makes no sense… do they want to force me to kill somebody in bloodlust?_ Her inners went cold at that thought, but then she couldn’t really see the point of that. _Whatever they’re planning to do, I need to get out of here. Soon. Wherever HERE is._ She drew in on her senses, which was all too easy as they were already on high alert due to her hunger and injuries. Besides the ekon in front of her, she was able to sense two more ekons upstairs, their slow heartbeats giving them away, but without using her eyes her blood sense couldn’t reach as far as usually.

_I wish I could look around freely. Still, my kidnappers being what and who they are and having at least one additional leech loitering about could mean I’m in the club’s house._ Not that this information would really help her right now, but at least she’d know what to expect if she managed to free herself from her bloody restraints. The next half an hour Julia tried to come up with an escape plan whilst Lord Hamersley was cutting her repeatedly, but all of them where doomed to fail if she didn’t get rid of her restraints, first. Which either needed the help from outside or a miracle. The roaring hunger inside her head blocking her focus also didn’t make things easier. Finally, she gave up for the moment, too busy on focusing on the heartbeats inside the room, her mind dreamingly conjuring images of indulging herself in blood.

“I think it is time”, the voice of Lord Hamersley suddenly sounded.

Surprised by the sudden break of silence, Julia tried to shake off the haze, focusing on the Lord. He had obviously caught one of the rats that where scattering about behind Julia, as he sliced its throat and filled the wine glass with its blood. Afterwards, he took some of the blood from the flask in the urn, dripping a single drop of it into the glass. “And what’s that supposed to be?”, Julia enquired with extracted fangs, trying to stop focusing on the glass, but the smell of it was calling to every fibre of her being.

She received no answer as the man stepped towards her with the glass in his hand, forcing her mouth open and pouring the liquid inside slowly enough for her to gulp everything down. Again, Julia felt an unexpected tinge of delight, considering he had only given her rat blood. The amount of blood was far from enough to sate her hunger even remotely, but it was sufficient to let her think clearer.

“If you wanna famish me, isn’t givin’ me blood somewhat counterproductive?”, she enquired, trying to prod a hint about their plans out of the ekon. She received no answer, however. “Come on, you must be bored, watching me bleeding out can’t be very diverting. Don’t you have some interestin’ stories to tell?”, she prodded further.

“Be quiet”, he cut her short, before falling back into silence again. With a sigh, Julia decided that she’d get nowhere with him and focused again on the heartbeats above her – now sensing three of them.

* * *

The next few hours ticked by in painful slowness as Lord Hamersley ensured she was almost constantly bleeding, a task getting increasingly simple as her healing was slowing down more and more. Every time her focus was completely lost in the hunger, he fed her with rat blood alongside with a single drop from the blood of the urn, however, leaving Julia in a constant condition of bloodthirsty haze without her being lost in it completely. She began actually looking forward to her regular feedings, as much as she loathed herself for it. Growling slightly as she saw him moving to the urn again, she opened her mouth now willingly enough, already anticipating the relief. Her growl deepened as he opened the urn, the strong, delicious smell making her shiver.

“Hm. I think you have had enough – you aren’t giving us anything in return for our hospitality, after all”, the ekon smirked as he closed the urn again without taking anything out, his voice only barely understandable over the beating of his heart. Furious about his denial, Julia threw herself against her restraints again, which didn’t budge in the slightest. “I think it is time to gather our most noble host, maybe you are feeling now more prone to indulge him”, Lord Hamersley went on mockingly.

Julia could sense him as he left the room, follow his heartbeat as he went upstairs. She wriggled in her bonds furiously, a small voice inside of her insisting that this could be a chance to flee, whilst a much bigger part of her was more focusing on the urn in front of her, and how to get it. All her wriggling didn’t help her in the slightest, however, leading her only to chafe herself. Panting, she gave up as she heard the approach of two slow heartbeats, licking over her lips subconsciously, her fangs scraping over her tongue.

“Now look at you – you’re almost behaving like one of these depraved skals…”, Lord Redgrave commented as he stepped into the room, shaking his head. “I have heard you might be more willing in sharing your information with me, now?”, he insisted, drawing nearer to the helplessly chained woman.

“I wouldn’t even if I’d know what you’re talkin’ about!”, Julia snarled, gritting her teeth and imagining burying them inside the Lord’s throat.

“So, you do not want to indulge yourself in some of this?”, Ascalon’s chairman insisted, opening the flask of the urn again and holding it close to Julia’s nose. The smell was intoxicating, stronger than anything she had smelled before and making Julia’s inners curl with need. “You only need to say the words…”, he went on, as Julia growled, baring her fangs.

“Just… Feck… OFF!”, she snarled, fighting desperately against her hunger, not being able to see anything besides the enticing shimmer of the blood.

“Tsk, tsk, such language”, Lord Redgrave replied, clicking his tongue and closing the flask again. “Too bad. Well, we will see how perseverant you are going to be in some more hours”, he concluded, placing the flask back into the urn. Julia only growled as a response, the hunger gnawing at her insides. She could hear the chairman leaving, the room being filled only with the heartbeats of the remaining ekon and the rats afterwards.

* * *

She didn’t know how much time had passed when Lord Redgrave returned – it could’ve been hours or mere minutes, as she had been drifting in a hunger-filled haze. She knew the sun had risen, however, since she could feel the exhaustion of the day pressing on her, only the hard slaps into her face she was receiving from Lord Hamersley every time she closed her eyes longer than a moment stopping her from falling asleep. “Are you more willing to indulge me now?”, the Lord asked, holding the opened flask under Julia’s nose.

She groaned in return, the hunger making coherent thoughts almost impossible. The smell from the flask was unbearable, the fact that Julia had already tasted some of the blood inside making matters much worse. Finally, Julia was able to mutter some coherent words, each of them a struggle against her bloodthirsty haze. “Drop. Dead.”, she grumbled, licking her lips as her fangs chafed them slightly.

“My, my, you _are_ a wilful one – he has a way of finding ones like you, I have to give him that”, her capturer replied, unfazed. Something inside of her told her that something in this last sentence should be meaningful to her, but Julia couldn’t focus enough to make a sense out of it. She could hear Lord Redgrave leaving afterwards, however, alongside with the heartbeat of several leeches inside the building and voices coming from the people on the street.

* * *

When the Lord returned again, Julia was not only able to make out _his_ heartbeat as well as the ones of the six other ekons inside the building, but occasionally even the ones of the humans passing by on the outside, if they came close enough. “I am talking to you!”, the Lord’s voice suddenly sounded, only the simultaneous slap on her face making her aware of his words.

“Then come closer, I can’t hear you”, Julia groaned, imagining indulging herself in his blood if he did so.

“I’m growing tired of your insolence, huntress. Tell me, where is your Sire hiding, and what are the depraved plans of his!?”, Lord Redgrave enquired furiously.

“My Sire? Are you referring to my maker?” Julia gasped, somewhat breaking through her haze. If she kept him talking, he might be moving nearer, close enough to bite… Or he’d give her at least some of this delightful blood he was keeping in that urn, she could still remember that wonderful tinge…

“Yes, I thought this to be obvious”, was the impatient reply.

“I do not know where he is, I do not know him”, Julia answered, desperate as she felt this answer would not satisfy her conversation partner, would lead him to retain the blood.

“Stop with your subterfuges, insolent woman! What has he told you that you are thinking you can dupe me? I have never encountered an ekon creating progeny reeking like its Sire as he does, so stop telling me faerie tales!”

Julia replied nothing at that, her focus on him fleeing since she wouldn’t be able to get any blood from him. “I wonder how his blood would taste like…”, she mumbled after a while, only half-aware that she was speaking.

“What are you prattling about, newborn?”, Lord Redgrave enquired, obviously irritated. With some struggle, Julia focused on him again – maybe it wasn’t too late to get something from him after all.

“Jonathan…”, she rasped, trying to recall her last thought and finding it almost impossible, as her mind was muddled and kept up on conjuring incoherent thoughts and images. “He smells so strong… I wonder what he’d taste like – I bet his blood would be better than yours, your smell’s nothin’ in comparison”, she explained, proud on herself that she’d been able to recall the thought. “He even told you to bend your knee after all…”, she added dreamily, busy with her remembrance of the doctor’s smell.

“Impudence! Well, as our past endeavours have been insufficient, it is time to step it up a notch!”, Lord Redgrave exclaimed, his fury almost palpable.

“She could be telling the truth – possibly she indeed doesn’t know her Sire”, Lord Hamersley intercepted, having stood by silently until now.

“You don’t know him like I do, Charles. I cannot believe he would leave his progeny unsupervised – I should have known better than trying to trust anything a _woman_ says, even in these circumstances. Her preposterous insinuation regarding my bloodline is only a proof for that. But even if she wouldn’t know him – if we can’t bring her to give us her nefarious master’s whereabouts, we’ll have to make him coming to _us_. Come, we must prepare ourselves for the fight”.

With that, the two ekons left the room, taking the urn with them. Julia had not even a minute to bewail the leaving heartbeats, before she was suddenly hit by a blinding light, burning every uncovered piece of her skin with excruciating pain. Screaming desperately, she struggled against her bindings, trying everything to escape the agony, but to no avail – the struggles made matters only worse, as the slight movements shifted the tears in her clothes, leaving other parts of her skin to burn. After what seemed to be an eternity, the light subsided, only to start again from another point, leaving a small spot of Julia’s body to slowly heal.

**_Childe!? What is happening to you? Are you caught in the sun?_** , an alarmed voice suddenly sounded in Julia’s head. Julia was not able to answer it, however, the agony and thirst keeping her from focusing enough to understand the meaning of its words. **_Childe! You need to move out of the sun! The pain will not subside before you do!_**

_Move… I can’t move…_ , Julia thought dazedly, fighting desperately against her binds.

**_Where are you? Have you been captured by the guard of Priwen?_** , the voice enquired after a short moment of silence. Julia still couldn’t properly focus on the words, the name Priwen only conjuring up pictures of Geoffrey, throwing himself against cage bars, lost in hunger… Hunger, she was so hungry… The source of light changed again, leading Julia to scream even louder. **_Focus Childe! Tell me where you are, who is doing this to you?_** , the voice commanded. Then, suddenly, after Julia hadn’t answered but only screamed in agony, she felt as if something was wrapping around her mind, shielding her from the worst of the pain and hunger.

**_Hush, Childe. I can guard you from the pain for some time, but we cannot dawdle. Now tell me, where are you? Who is the cause of this?_** , the strained voice of her maker echoed in her head, Julia now finally able to understand the meaning of his words as he shielded her mind from the worst of pain and hunger.

_Lord Redgrave, the Ascalon club…_ , she thought, still struggling to focus, but finally managing to remember how she had been captured, the Lord’s inquiry about her Sire, and what he had done to her when she hadn’t been able to answer his questions. Her maker was silent for a short while after her revelations, but she had the feeling he was thinking about something quite unpleasant.

**_I see. The Earl of Bristol has finally overstepped his boundaries. If Ascalon calls for war, I will only be too happy to oblige_**, he finally answered, his wrath sending shivers of fear through Julia’s mind. **_I am not be able to shield you longer, and I cannot move before the sun sets, but be sure I will not leave you alone, Childe_** , her maker said soothingly, calming her fear, before she could feel his protecting grasp subside, the burning pain of her body now getting unbearable again. Julia started screaming again, not even sure if she had ever stopped, as suddenly a calm, soothing song sounded inside her head. She didn’t understand its words, but her mind clung to it nevertheless, its melody not easing the pain but giving her at least something to focus on beside it.

* * *

She couldn’t say how long she was hanging there, writhing in agony, whilst listening to the songs her maker projected into her head. Sometimes, he shielded her shortly from the pain, leaving Julia incredibly thankful for every time he was doing so. Then, suddenly, the song in her head stopped. If she would have still been able to, Julia would have cried out in desperation at being left alone, at losing the last thing maintaining her sanity, but her voice had left her ages ago – right now she wasn’t even able to breath properly, her windpipe being damaged too much by the blinding light. After what seemed to be another eternity, the burning suddenly stopped, however, leaving Julia standing in the dark, her body healing slowly, so very slowly.

Now that the pain was finally gone, the female ekon could feel how sharp her blood sense was. She could neither smell nor see anything, not in the state her body was in right now, but she felt blood moving upstairs, heard hearts beating slowly whilst moving. She heard sudden screaming and fighting noises, could sense blood being spilled as a new presence entered the building, its strength and odd familiarity sending shivers down her spine. If she’d been able to growl, she would have been doing so right now, her body shivering with bloodlust, called by the blood that was spilled above. Just as the sixth heart stopped its beating, Julia could finally breath again, relief flooding her as she did so. Her nose provided her with an additional sense, the smell of her own blood lingering in the room making her feel dizzy, causing the hunger inside her to roar furiously. Her other senses were now completely focused on the presence above her, which seemed to be dealing with the last remaining heartbeat, as suddenly, the presence moved, leaving and being soon out of the reach.

“No…”, Julia growled, surprised by the sound of her own hoarse voice and desperate at the prospect of being left alone.

The seventh heart she had been feeling was still beating, though its owner seemed not to be moving. There was another, a new heartbeat, however, that moved slowly inside the building, stopping for a while at the other heart before moving downstairs, nearer to Julia. She could hear the door opening, hear somebody step inside, the smell of him filling the air. Julia felt like she should know this smell, and as he spoke, she felt his words should be important, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered besides the delicious smell radiating from him, the enticing heartbeats, the blood calling to her. Smiling warmly, Julia said the words from which she hoped they would lure him nearer, allowing her to drink. And indeed, he was stepping closer, coming to a halt in front of her, but still out of reach. Julia let her smile broaden, trying to put more force into her voice to coax him into submission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ones of you who read Resistance Admittance might have already realised it - Julia being abducted was the inspiration I took from there. It just fit too well to my nefarious purposes to leave it out. 
> 
> Also, it's weekend. Which means there'll be another update in the evening :)


	17. Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's see what Geoffrey's up to, shall we?
> 
> Early update since I won't have the time later. Also, I did a double update today, so if you haven't read "Blood and Light" yet, you should do so before reading this.

The first thing Geoffrey saw when he stepped inside the club’s house was a drained body, dropped carelessly on the ornate carpet of the posh room. As he stepped closer, he could see and smell that it had been a leech, whose only injury was a bite mark at his neck.

 _Is this Julia’s doing? But why would she attack Ascalon all on her own after the argument we had just about this topic yesterday?_, he wondered, frowning. His sword drawn and his senses on high alert, he stepped through the door into the next room, finding himself on a big gallery. Caught off-guard by what he was seeing, he stopped for a moment, taking a closer look at his surroundings. The traces of a fight in the space below him were evident, as broken furniture and decoration were laying around, most of the curtains that had been attached to the gallery were torn and the floor was covered with blood. That wasn’t was Geoffrey had made to halt, however. It was the state of the four bodies that were lying around. Two of them had been beheaded, one of their heads now replacing a lamp that had been held by one of the statues at the foot of the stairs, the other head lying several metres from his owner. One of the other corpses had several stab and shot wounds, while the last one was hanging over one of the railings, a stake coming out from his chest, his mouth still opened with a silent cry. Geoffrey could almost feel the wrath of whomever had done this lingering in the air.

 _This was not Julia_ , he thought, as he moved slowly towards the stairs, his senses him now not only showing the one undead he had seen before, but also an additional, weaker presence in the cellar. He moved cautiously towards the first heartbeat, finding its owner in a study room on the ground floor. The hunter’s eyebrows went up in surprise as he recognised the ekon, having seen his face before on a portrait his men had unearthed. “You seem to be in quite some predicament here, leech”, Geoffrey stated smugly, stepping in front of the grey-haired ekon who was seated on the ground, chained against a pillar and almost unable to move.

“Another progeny? How many of you has this disgrace of our kind created?”, Lord Redgrave hissed, apparently in pain and glaring up to meet Geoffrey’s eyes.

“Whom are you talking about, beast?”, Geoffrey enquired, bewildered, whilst assessing the leech in front of him carefully.

Ascalon’s chairman sneered at that, baring his fangs. “Oh, stop your pretences – I have already told this impudent sibling of yours that you cannot hide your lineage from me, it is evident with every breath I take whilst having you standing in front of me”, he spat furiously, struggling against his chains.

 _Ian_ _!? But that can’t be! No – he said something about progeny, not family… Are there others of Arthur’s blood!?_ , Geoffrey wondered before returning his attention to the other ekon. “How would you know who my maker is?”, he enquired, lowering his face to the man in front of him.

“You reek like him, just like any of his progeny does – and even if not, I do not believe in coincidences. Your Sire called you here, so you can see his handiwork and save the damsel in distress, did he not?”

 _My Sire – but Arthur is dead!? Or… is he? He could have faked his death… But what about this ‘damsel in distress’? And how’d Arthur be calling me if I don’t even know he is alive?_ , Geoffrey pondered, reaching out with his senses, trying to prove his suspicion by turning his focus to the presence below him. Suddenly, his eyes widened, as he finally recognised who was in the cellar. She seemed to be somehow weaker than normally, and something about her didn’t sit right, but it was definitely her. “Julia?”, he gasped, bewildered. Why was she here? Why was she downstairs not having moved at all? “What have you done?”, he queried the Lord, his worry from before suddenly resurfacing. He did not wait for the answer when the Lord didn’t reply immediately, however, having seen the open door leading to a stair.

His body tense and ready to fight, he went downstairs, finding himself in an unlit cellar room – now that he thought of it, the whole building hadn’t had any lights on. It didn’t bother him due to his improved night vision, however, so he carried on, moving towards the only door he could see. It was locked, but that didn’t stop Geoffrey for long, since he was always carrying some lockpicks around in case he needed to break into a leech’s lair. The door led to a storage room which was mostly filled with wine, even though he could see some bottles in one corner that had blood inside them.

 _Disgusting beasts_ , he thought, while moving towards the door at the end of the room, sensing Julia’s presence behind it. Now that he was closer, the unusual weakness of her blood was even more evident. Worried, he opened the door hurriedly, stopping dead in his tracks directly after. The room’s air was saturated with the smell of Julia’s blood, the woman being restrained by a heavy structure attached to a post that was coming down from the ceiling to the floor. The structure seemed to be more than strong enough to hold even against the strength of an ekon and was completely disabling her to move more than some centimetres, as it not only cuffed her upper and lower arms as well as her ankles and thighs, but it also fixed her belly, chest, neck and head with heavy steel strappings. Around her stood several lamps, leading Geoffrey to curse violently as he realised what he was seeing, since he had used this kind of equipment already himself, before his turning.

 _Chained in a way that leaves as much open spots as possible, surrounded by ultraviolet lights. Hell, these leeches must have tortured her!_ Slowly, Geoffrey rounded the woman so he could see her face. If her blood hadn’t told him who she was, he wouldn’t even have recognised her since she looked like death itself. Her skin was heavily charred, her flesh burnt and at some points he could even see her bones shining through. Her eyes were glowing in the dark, completely fixed on him.

“Julia?”, he enquired carefully, not wanting to startle her. “Do you recognise me?”

“Of course I do, and I cannot express how happy I am to be seeing you”, she replied, smiling warmly, her voice surprisingly sweet considering her state. “I just knew you would come. Please, could you release me from my binds? I’d be so much obliged, as this posture is becoming rather uncomfortable”, she carried on, her voice still disturbingly sweet.

Geoffrey hackles raised, as this kind of wording did not sound like the Julia he knew and whilst her smile was appealing, her eyes were cold and calculating. “I don’t know if this is a good idea, Julia”, he argued, stepping a little closer, examining her.

“Oh, please, I am sure such a marvellous man like you wouldn’t leave a Lady in distress. **Untie me** ”, she demanded, her smile having deepened, but her voice now having more force behind it.

 _Did she just try to mesmerize me!?_ , Geoffrey wondered, his horror rising with every word she was saying. If he wouldn’t know her, he’d have pierced her heart right now. Hell, even knowing her, he wasn’t sure if this was not the best course of action, wasn’t sure if he could snap her out of whatever that was. _But she wouldn’t deserve it. If there’s a decent leech, it’s her. Blood. She needs blood. She is heavily wounded; the thirst must be unbearable – probably this is the reason for her strange behaviour_. He had noticed a cage with rats before, and even though he knew that they’d hardly suffice in her state, they were a good start. Careful to come not even remotely within Julia’s reach despite her restraints, he snatched one of the rats, bringing it to Julia’s mouth.

She bit down as soon as the rodent was within her reach, the force of her bite almost smacking it out of Geoffrey’s hand. It was only a matter of seconds until the small animal was completely drained, Julia retracting immediately afterwards and baring her fangs at Geoffrey.

“ **I need more. Give me your blood** ”, she ordered, her voice echoing inside Geoffrey’s head, urging him to follow her command.

 _Bloody hell. If I wasn’t a leech myself that could’ve been it._ But then he’d have shot her on sight if he’d still be human. He went for the next rat, nevertheless, even though he worried if it would help her state of mind at all. He could watch her healing as she drained the second rat, her flesh rebuilding and the charring somewhat subsiding.

“More…”, Julia demanded, her voice now lacking the force behind it, even though Geoffrey did not know if this was because she was coming back to her senses or if she just had realised that her mind tricks didn’t work on him. As she had drained the third rat, she didn’t even say anything anymore, but just growled quietly when the hunter returned with the last rodent in his hand. Her charred skin had healed completely when she was done with it, but she still seemed to be awfully thin, her skin was stretching over her bones, her face hollow and sunken.

“Julia?”, Geoffrey tried to address her again as she had closed her eyes, seemingly drifting away. “Julia? Do you hear me? Are you in there?”, he asked as she didn’t respond.

Slowly, Julia opened her eyes, her gaze now not as cold and calculating as it had been before, but utterly confused and unfocused. “…Geoffrey?”, she finally rasped, her rough voice in sharp contrast to the sweet tone she had been using before. “How did you come down here? Have they captured you, too?”, she enquired, her eyes suddenly widening with obvious horror.

Her changed demeanour took a load of Geoffrey’s mind, even though he kept on being careful in case this was another ruse of hers. “No, they haven’t”, he reassured her, seeing some of her tension relax at his response. “What have they done to you? How did you even come here?”, he asked, even though he could imagine at least some of the answer to his first question.

“Bled me, starved me… and then there was this terrible light – but, where is he?”, Julia mumbled, shivering at the memory and obviously having some trouble to focus as she kept on stumbling over her words, holding her eyes only barely open.

“He?”, the hunter enquired, but receiving no answer since she seemed to have dosed off.

 _She needs more blood, she is only barely healed. But I cannot release her in this state, I do not trust her self-restraint right now. I will have to feed her here_ , he pondered. He considered the bottles from the other room, but Julia had already told him of the effect larger amounts of stale blood had on leeches, so he disregarded the idea quickly. _Lord Redgrave would be a fine donor, but I’d like to interrogate him before he is ended. I could leave her here in the meantime..._ But he didn’t like that thought at all – not only was there still the lingering question of the whereabouts of whomever had caused this massacre upstairs, he also despised the idea of leaving Julia alone in this terrible room even for one minute. Having decided, he rolled up a sleeve of his coat and patted Julia’s cheek carefully to wake her up.

“Julia? Julia! I need you to listen to me!”, he enquired firmly, smiling slightly when she opened her eyes to look at him. “I can give you something to drink, but you must try to stop when I say so, otherwise I might have to hurt you. Do you understand me?”, he went on as he saw that he had her attention.

“I’m not sure if I can, Geoffrey…”, she replied, her voice so quiet that even he had trouble understanding her.

“Try it, at least. That’s all I demand”, the hunter answered, raising his bared arm to her mouth.

“What _…_ are you doing?”, Julia requested, now somewhat louder, her gaze fixed on his arm.

“I’m feeding you. Come on now, I know you want it and I won’t have a leech as famished as you are running around freely”, he explained, pressing his wrist against her mouth.

Growling, Julia gave in, burying her fangs deeply in his veins. The hunter hissed at the pain she caused, feeling weakened with every gulp she took. It didn’t take long before he felt that he had to draw away since she was drinking with incredible speed.

“Stop it”, he commanded her, pulling away his arm. Her teeth dug deeper as a first response, but finally, as he pulled away stronger, repeating his command with more force behind it, her fangs retracted. Her pupils were dilated with the obvious delight his blood had given her and he could see her licking away the last remnants of his blood from her lips while he willed his body to heal the wound at his arm. “How are you feeling?”, he enquired as Julia came finally back from the height, her gaze now being much more focused.

“Hungry. And dangerously so”, she replied in a low, emotionless voice, after thinking his question over for a short moment. “But I can focus, I think. And I’m not in so much pain anymore”.

Geoffrey nodded at that, deciding that most of his questions had time until he had gotten her out of here. “So, you won’t attack me as soon as I open that binds of yours?”, he enquired.

“That question sounds awfully familiar, don’t you think?”, Julia answered cockily, before continuing in a more serious tone. “I… think so – I think I’m in control, for now at least”. Relieved to hear her usual sharp tongue again, Geoffrey began to work at the locks of her restraints, starting at the one at her wrist chains. “You’re really fast at this. I’ve already realised when you opened the door to Jonathan’s office”, Julia stated as he moved to the next lock, having the first one opened within a few seconds.

“It’s a useful ability when hunting leeches. And these locks might be sturdy, but they aren’t really complicated”, the hunter explained calmly whilst working on the mechanism, which opened with a satisfying click shortly after. Julia groaned slightly as her arms were finally released – it must have hurt to hold this posture all this time and even despite her leech healing Geoffrey could see where the bonds had chafed her.

“And ‘f course you only ever used these abilities for hunting”, she teased him, only the tight edge around her mouth showing the distress she tried to hide with her bantering.

“Of course I have – only a depraved leech like you would think of me otherwise”, the hunter replied mockingly, rising an eyebrow.

Julia huffed at that, the edge around her mouth deepening. “Yeah, depraved – that really describes leeches”, she stated, her gaze grim and her voice now having a menacing touch. They both went quiet as Geoffrey worked on the last locks, Geoffrey feeling her brooding about something. Finally, Julia was freed.

The hunter stepped carefully back from her, watching her for any hostile movements. None came, as Julia only stretched, glancing around the room. Her movements were deliberate, but also somewhat off, since they were just a touch too suddenly, her vampiric speed shining through. After a short moment, she shadow-stepped next to the rat’s cage, picking up her coat from the floor next to it where it had been dropped carelessly, alongside with her weapons. “I think I’d better take care of these, for now”, Geoffrey intervened just before she could clasp the crossbow at her belt.

“…You’re probably right”, Julia mumbled, handing her dagger and crossbow over to him. “These leeches upstairs…”, she started, shrugging into her coat and closing it over her torn blouse, “you weren’t the one who killed them, were you?”

The hunter shook his head. “No. I already found them like this. I don’t know who did this, actually I…”

“So, he really was here”, she interrupted him absentmindedly. Before Geoffrey could enquire whom she meant, she drew in a sharp breath, her gaze focusing on a point upstairs. “Redgrave”, she hissed, her expression suddenly vicious. Before the hunter could even blink, she had shadow-jumped towards the door, already reaching the stairs as he just started to move. _Dammit!_ , he thought as he went after her, cursing under his breath. As he finally caught up with her, she was just in the process of burying her teeth deep inside Lord Redgrave’s throat, stabbing his chest with one of her crossbow bolts.

* * *

Julia still didn’t feel like herself. The hunger was constantly gnawing at her, leaving her on edge. And whilst her senses where sharper than ever before, she had trouble with focusing on one spot. The bantering with Geoffrey helped somewhat, but as she suddenly realised whose heartbeat she had been hearing upstairs all the time, it wasn’t important anymore as the fury inside her even drowned out her hunger for the moment. Without giving it a second thought, she went through the cellar and upstairs as fast as she could, finding the cause of her torture sitting on the ground, unable to move due to his chains. With a vicious snarl she swooped down on him, one of her hands pulling a bolt out of the quiver she had reattached to her belt before handing her weapons over to Geoffrey.

“So, you found it amusing to let me bleed, beast!?”, she snarled, burrowing the bolt into the man’s upper arm, whilst her other hand curled around his neck, her fingers forming claws digging into his skin. “Should I also bleed you out, let you _burn_ , like you did with me!?”, she exclaimed furiously, pulling the bolt out of his arm only to burrow it in his shoulder. She could feel him struggle below her, trying to get away from her vicious attacks, but his chains didn’t allow any larger movements.

“How does it feel like, being chained, helplessly at the mercy of a _leech_!?”, Julia hissed, the scent of his blood leading her fangs to extract. She could see that he was trying to say something, but she didn’t want to hear anything from his foul mouth, not now, so she buried her fangs in his throat, giving in to the thirst whilst her right hand was still stabbing him furiously with the crossbow bolt.

“Julia! Stop this!”, a voice suddenly sounded from behind her, strong arms pulling her away from the Lord’s body. Julia only barely managed to stop herself from attacking the man behind her as she realised it was Geoffrey. Furious about him stopping her, she struggled to get out of his grip.

“Leave me be! He deserves it!”, she exclaimed, darting for Lord Redgrave again as soon as he released her. “What do you know of my maker, beast!?”, she enquired fiercely, grabbing him at his shoulders and shaking him violently as he didn’t answer. “Speak, you depraved son of a whore!”, she demanded, her fury rising even more as he still denied her an answer.

“He can’t, Julia! You have to stop with this!”, Geoffrey intercepted, moving around her to look into her face.

“’f course he can! He has spoken of him, he _knows_ him, and he _will_ tell me about it!”, Julia replied furiously, looking up into the hunter’s worried face.

“Might be he knew something, Julia, but he won’t be able to tell you anymore. You’ve killed him”, McCullum stated dryly, his gaze not leaving her face.

“He’s dead?”, Julia enquired, blinking in surprise.

“Aye. He is – or do you still hear a heartbeat coming from him? You have pierced his heart whilst draining him”, Geoffrey stated calmly, his voice sounding awkwardly… cautious.

“Oh”. Julia let her gaze wander down to Ascalon’s chairman again, and indeed, now that she looked at him without her wrath clouding her vision, she could see immediately that there was no life left in his body, her bolt still sticking in his chest. “He deserved it”, she muttered, only regretting he hadn’t suffered more. Well, and that she hadn’t been able to get any information from him. “The other leeches… there ought to be more from Ascalon’s lot!”, she suddenly exclaimed. “They should suffer like I have, we’ve got to make sure they can’t rebuild!”, she went on, a rough plan forming inside her head.

“The ones that were here are already dead, so we will have to wait with that. But I agree with the rest”, the hunter replied, still eyeing her cautiously.

“No, I can’t wait”, Julia snarled through gritted teeth. “I will let them burn, like they burnt me, I’ll set this bloody building on fire!”

 ** _I’d strongly advise against that._** , the firm voice of her maker sounded inside her head, drowning out Geoffrey’s answer.

“You again! Where are you? You said you wouldn’t leave me alone!” Julia replied furiously.

**_And I stood to my promise. You have just stabbed one proof of my presence, after all. Not that I would disagree in the slightest with this course of action, even if it would have been wise to question him first._ **

“And why have you left, then!? I could feel you leavin’ me alone in that terrible room!”, Julia exclaimed furiously, ignoring Geoffrey completely, who was obviously irritated by her behaviour.

 ** _I could feel the hunter approaching and found it unwise to linger since my presence might have led to a fight_** , her maker explained calmly.

“Why? Are you _afraid_ of Geoffrey?”, Julia replied, intrigued. Only one night ago, she would’ve been delighted by that idea, but now – she wasn’t sure anymore. As much as she loathed her maker for what he had done to her, for what Lord Redgrave had done to her because of him and also for him leaving, he had still helped her, shielded her when her world had been nothing but pain.

**_Hardly, at least not as the neonate he is right now. But I would have hated to destroy such a promising youngling like him – I had also the feeling his death would have upset you even more, as you seem to care about him._ **

“Well, if that is so, what hinders you from coming back right now so we can talk face to face? I’m sure Geoffrey won’t attack you on sight if I tell him who you are”.

**_And why should I? The hunter will be more than able to take care of you, probably even better than I could and I have already involved myself too much into the path of yours, my hand being forced by Ascalon’s vile machinations._ **

“Then don’t expect me to follow your orders, _leech_! I’ll get my revenge!”, Julia spat, her fury rising again.

 ** _At any cost? Without caring about collaterals?_** , her maker enquired, Julia feeling a threat lurking behind his words.

“I do not plan on causing any collaterals, and I cannot be held accountable if those leeches are draining innocents whilst capturin’ me!”

**_You may not be planning to leave collaterals, Childe, but a fire like the one you are planning to start could cause ones. You cannot control it. Not to mention that this plan of yours will not help your cause, as I have already killed all of Ascalon’s members residing in the building, save for the chairman himself._ **

“Then I’ll hunt them down, one by one!”, Julia exclaimed, furious about still being arguing with him.

**_Or you could just wait for them, like the cat does when catching a mouse. There are times to act and there are times to hold your hand, Childe. Set up a trap and let them come to you. Also, you need to rest; your mind needs time to recover. Fighting in the unfocused state you are in now would lead to your destruction. You have not even noticed one of the strongest blood drinkers in this city approaching, after all._ **

Julia’s head snapped up at that, her gaze focusing on Jonathan, who stood in the doorframe, his bewildered gaze lingering on her. Geoffrey, who was still standing beside her, had gone quiet, Julia didn’t know since when. Before any of them could speak, her maker’s voice sounded inside her head again, however.

 ** _You need to leave. Now._** , he suddenly ordered curtly.

“What? Why?”, Julia enquired, now focusing more on her senses. They weren’t as overly sharp as they had been before, Lord Redgrave’s blood having dealt with the worst part of her hunger, but they were still quite keen. They didn’t show her anyone besides Geoffrey and Jonathan however, and her maker also didn’t answer her questions. “Oh, come on, don’t play this game again”, Julia groaned, irritated.

* * *

Jonathan had just been finishing his newest letter to his dear Elisabeth, as suddenly the lights in his room went out. The darkness didn’t bother him, of course, but he still wanted to know the reason. He went out of his room and looked around. His mother was lying motionless in her room, probably asleep. _She has been sleeping a lot the last few days_ , the ekon thought worriedly. The fact that he didn’t like the sounds her heart was occasionally making didn’t help at all. Sometimes he dreaded coming home, fearing he would find her dead. _I should’ve been there for her earlier_ , he scolded himself, but just before he could sink too deep into self-loathing, a bewildered Avery who had just been at the fuse box without a result interrupted his thoughts.

As the two of them discussed about possible reasons for the sudden power outage, Jonathan looked through the window, realising that the problem was not inside the mansion – the lights of all surrounding houses were also dark. Frowning, he called the butler’s attention to this fact. After a short exchange of words with his butler, the doctor stepped outside, seeing various people having done the same who were now looking around and discussing in a confused and anxious way. He was just engaging in a conversation with Clarence, noticing absent-mindedly that Charlotte didn’t seem to be campaigning tonight, as he suddenly found that something beside the lights was also amiss. The front door of the Ascalon club, normally being always closed, was half-opened. _What is the matter there?_ , he wondered, his hackles rising.

“I’m awfully sorry, Clarence, but I have to go”, Jonathan said, interrupting his friend mid-sentence and hurrying towards the club.

He could tell that Clarence was confused by his odd behaviour, but at least he wasn’t following him. Slowing down a little bit as he reached the entrance he focused on his senses, drawing in a sharp breath as the distinct smell of ekon blood hit him. _Has Priwen finally carried out another attack on the club?_ But his senses didn’t show him any humans inside, only the slow heartbeats of two vampires. Two vampires he knew only all too well. _Julia and McCullum. I should have known._ Putting his hand on the hilt of his sword, he stepped inside the house, closing the door behind him. He stepped over a body that had been stabbed through his heart, hesitating shortly as he saw the destruction in the next room. _This is not Julia’s fighting style, and I have a hard time imagining the hunter draping that head like this_ , he thought with a deep frown, drawing closer to Lord Redgrave’s study room. He could hear McCullum and Julia talking, but their words didn’t seem to make any sense.

* * *

Geoffrey didn’t know what to do. Bloodthirst and violence he had anticipated, had even prepared himself to put his newest acquaintance down if forced to, but this? After her ridiculous proposal to set the building on fire, Julia had begun to talk to thin air, completely ignoring his attempts to gain her attention. The hunter was almost relieved as he felt Reid stepping inside the building – who’d be better at dealing with a snapped mind as a doctor, after all – even if the doctor in question was a leech. “I’m glad you’re here”, he stated, turning towards the other man who had just stepped into the doorframe.

Jonathan blinked in surprise, as he would never have expected such a friendly greeting from McCullum of all persons. “Now, that is surely not a statement I would have anticipated from you”, the doctor stated, but was interrupted by a quite furious sounding Julia.

“Then I’ll hunt them down, one by one!”, she exclaimed, staring into thin air.

“What…?”, Jonathan begun, only to be interrupted again, this time by the hunter.

“She’s doing that for some time now, I can’t snap her out of it”, he explained, his voice sounding genuinely worried. Before Jonathan could reply, however, Julia’s focus suddenly snapped on him. Carefully, he started approaching her, only now noticing how battered she looked, as her gaze turned unfocused again.

“What?”, she enquired, glancing around the room. “Oh, come on, don’t play this game again”, she groaned, irritated.

“Julia? Are you talking to your maker?”, Jonathan enquired cautiously, suddenly getting an idea about what might be going on.

“I was, but the bastard stopped mid-conversation. Again”, she replied, still looking around. “We’ve got to leave”, she suddenly stated, stepping nearer to the door, revealing the dead body of Lord Redgrave behind her.

“Have you killed him?”, Jonathan queried, nodding towards the corpse.

“Aye. And the only thing I regret about it is that bastard not suffering longer. But we have to leave now”, Julia answered firmly, grabbing McCullum’s arm and pulling him towards the door.

“Why?”, both men said in unison, and both blinking in surprise about that.

“’cause he said so, and ‘s far as I can tell I’d better heed his warnings”, Julia explained, now trying to shove Jonathan aside.

“Who…”, McCullum started, but Jonathan shook his head at him, as he suspected about whom Julia was talking.

“Later, hunter. If she’s right about our need to leave, this kind of explanation takes too much time. But we really should get Marshal’s blood before we leave, at least if it’s still here”, he stated, giving the doorway free for Julia and the hunter to pass.

“Wait, the other blood you’ve been using for the antidote is in the hands of the _leech_ club?”, the hunter enquired, still only moving very reluctantly.

“It was, at least”, Jonathan stated, unsure. “Myrddin mentioned that he might retrieve it, however, so I’m not sure if it’s still here”.

“Was it kept in an urn?”, Julia suddenly intercepted, her gaze somewhat absent-minded.

“Yes”, the doctor confirmed, assessing her curiously.

“Then it’s still here, even though I don’t know where exactly. But you’d better hurry if you wanna get it, and don’t you dare openin’ that damned flask that’s inside in my presence”, she said, her voice almost sounding… pained.

“I think I know where to look for it”, Jonathan nodded, deciding to spare his questions for later and heading towards the stairs.

Geoffrey stood quietly next to Julia as the two of them waited for the doctor to return. He just wanted to ask her again why she was insisting on leaving, as she suddenly tensed. “There’re humans surrounding the building. Many of them”, she breathed in a tight voice.

“I can’t…”, Geoffrey started, but stopped himself as he suddenly felt the presence of several people just outside the front door. One of them he knew. _Thomas._ “That’s Priwen! We need to leave, now!”, he whispered back, pulling her to the stairs.

“We need to wait for Jonathan!”, she protested in a hushed voice.

“We can get him while we leave!”, Geoffrey replied impatiently, the two of them already on the half landing. They didn’t need to get the doctor, however, since he appeared in front of them, holding an urn alongside with a thick book in his hands.

“I feel them, too. We could head for the balconies on the backside”, he whispered softly.

“Too late”, the hunter replied, drawing in a deep breath and turning around as he heard Thomas stepping inside the room, accompanied by several Priwen guards and one of the captains which were all cocking their weapons on the three ekons as soon as they saw them. Geoffrey pulled Julia closer as he felt her tensing beside him, curling his arm around her waist to hold her back in case the hunger overwhelmed her.

He could see his former friend halt in surprise as he saw them. Thomas’ hand moved up to stop his men from any hasty actions and he took a moment to take in his surroundings, a tense silence filling the room. “Of all possibilities I’ve considered when I planned this, _this_ was none of them. Tell me, _leech_ , why did you do this? Are you still trying to feign humanity like you were last time or were you and your new friends merely eliminating the competition?”, he finally enquired, looking at Geoffrey, just as Julia whispered almost inaudibly “They’ve surrounded the building, they’ll probably try shootin’ us even if we use the windows to flee”.

“Right stairway, then into the first room to the balcony, at three”, Reid whispered back in similar volume, making it impossible for any human to even hear he was talking.

Geoffrey decided to cover up his counting, nevertheless, and answered Thomas’ question. “Neither one way nor the other, Thomas. I’m simply doing what I’ve always done, and that’s hunting leeches. Being one myself doesn’t stop me from that”, Geoffrey stated, his last word sounding just as the doctor got to the three.

Tightening his grip around Julia’s waist in case she tried to use the opportunity to bolt for one of the men, Geoffrey shadow-jumped up the stairs. He could hear weapons shooting, but luckily, they were too fast for his men, the railing of the gallery as well as the pillars also impeding their aim. Before even one of the guards got to the stairs, they had already headed inside the room with the broken balcony door. To Geoffrey’s immense relief, Julia was not only cooperating, but went to the exit even more determinedly than him – apparently, she really had shaken off the worst of her hunger. They were greeted by more shooting as soon as they stepped outside, but thanks to Julia’s warning they had anticipated it and were able to dodge most of the shots, none of them hitting a lethal spot. The three ekons spent the next few minutes running, Geoffrey getting a short glimpse of another of his captains while Jonathan took the lead, moving mostly over rooftops and balconies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seems like Lord Redgrave's attempt to lure Julia's maker in worked, but he has certainly underestimated his foe...


	18. Enlightening Conversations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did a double update yesterday, so if you haven't caught up with the old chapters you'd probably better do so ;)

“That was far too close for my liking”, Jonathan stated as they were sure to have shaken off their pursuers, the three of them standing in a small back alley. “You really had to pick a fight with Ascalon, didn’t you?”, he continued, giving both of the other ekons a hard glare.

“It wasn’t us who picked the fight”, Julia replied darkly with menacing eyes.

“You didn’t cause this massacre, then? Your presence in the club was a mere coincidence?”, the doctor enquired with genuine curiosity since the bloodbath in the club really hadn’t seemed like their handiwork. Julia was just beginning with a furious answer as McCullum interrupted her.

“Cut it, Reid. Your precious leech friends were already dead when I’ve found them, and they had _chained_ Julia in their fecking cellar, so shut your foul mouth!”

“They did what!?”, the doctor exclaimed, giving Julia a worried look.

“Your friends chained her, _doctor_ , tortured her probably for hours with bloody ultraviolet lights!”, McCullum retorted, wrought up.

“As if you’d never done the same with _leeches_ , McCullum. And they aren’t my friends, they never have been. But is it true what he said? What has happened? And if neither you nor the hunter has killed them, who did?”, Jonathan replied, appalled, and turning to Julia who looked at him with an unreadable expression in her eyes.

“I don’t wanna talk about it. Can’t we just go an’ hunt some ghouls? I’m still thirsty and I want to hurt somethin’”, she replied tartly, turning around and heading towards the next roof without waiting for an answer. Worried, Jonathan followed her, as did McCullum. He tried to get some answers out of her as they headed towards Whitechapel, but she blocked all his attempts. Finally, Jonathan gave up, exchanging a look with the hunter who, to Jonathan’s surprise, seemed to be as worried as he was. “You see that? There’re at least nine of them! I’ll need my weapons, Geoffrey”, Julia suddenly whispered, a menacing smile playing upon her lips.

“Same tactic as always – you take them out from above while I fight them on the ground?”, McCullum enquired, handing crossbow and dagger hesitantly over to her.

“No”, Julia answered to his and Jonathan’s surprise. “I want to see them hurtin’ up close”, she continued, her eyes burning with hate. Then, her form suddenly vanished as she drew on her shadow veil.

The fight went down smoothly as Jonathan and McCullum drew the skals’ attention on them, allowing it Julia to shoot one of them and draining another before they had even realized her presence. Jonathan’s shadows sent three skals to the ground, which was used by the hunter to behead them. One of the remaining four skals was drained by the hunter while its blood was frozen by Julia. Jonathan ended another two with his sword and claws. Just as Julia disposed of the last one by shooting in its heart, a loud howl sounded from one of the roofs, however, as a large vulkod launched itself on them. “Oh no, you won’t, beast!” Julia snarled, baring her fangs and clenching her hand into a fist. The shadows followed her command, chaining the beast. “You’re gonna suffer, you bloody monster!”, she spat furiously, tightening her fist even further. To the surprise of all, the shadows gripped the beast even tighter and went sharp, effectively cutting the chained beast into pieces.

“What was _that?_ ”, Geoffrey exclaimed, eyeing Julia with new worry as well as suspicion in his eyes.

“’t was what that _beast_ deserved!”, Julia snapped back, obviously wrought up. “Come now, there’re more beasts that need to suffer!”, she went on, already beginning to move.

“No”, Jonathan intercepted firmly, his worry about her only having grown in the past few minutes. “This is a bad idea, Julia. I see you are trying to let your hurt out on something else, but further pursuing this path will only lead to self-destruction. You need to heal!”

“Don’t you also start with this!”, she replied furiously, her voice almost cracking.

“As much as I loathe to admit it, but Reid’s got a point there, Julia. Believe me, I’ve seen enough men dying when fighting in a state like this. A good hunter is a calm hunter and you are not. You need a break to gather yourself”, McCullum joined in the conversation, eyeing her cautiously.

“I’m not a frail dolly bird who needs to be protected, so stop fussing about me, all three of you!” Julia spat back, red tears leaking from her eyes.

“There are only two of us, Julia”, Geoffrey replied, feeling cold desperation creeping upon him.

“I think I know whom she means, McCullum”, Jonathan stated with low voice before Julia could answer. “But we _do_ need to talk, Julia – I know you don’t want to, and I understand it, but the hunter here deserves some explanations, don’t you think? Talking to thin air leaves other people quite worried, you know”, he went on in a kind voice, locking his eyes with hers.

Julia’s lips twitched unwillingly, but, finally, she gave in. “You understand nothing, Jonathan. But fine. If you don’t want this city cleansed, so be it!” Jonathan only sighed at that, leaving it to the hunter to reply.

“Throwing yourself into fights like a maniac also won’t help anyone, Julia. Come on now, let’s move to a cosier place, I for my part have seen enough blood for this night”, McCullum said gently, taking cautiously Julia’s arm.

After Jonathan had picked up the book and the urn from the backyard he had left them in before the fight, they went to Stonebridge cemetery in tense silence, as Julia was brooding during the whole way, giving only curt answers whenever one of the men tried to start a conversation. Geoffrey couldn’t stop himself from feeling tense, all the time half expecting her to snap entirely. As much as he hated to admit it, he was glad about Reid’s presence for once. He wasn’t entirely sure if he’d be able to take Julia out alone, and not only because of her strength and speed – he had grown to like her, after all. And whilst Geoffrey still didn’t trust the doctor entirely, he was sure Reid would do what needed to be done if things were getting too dangerous.

* * *

As they finally arrived at their hideout, the hunter felt somewhat relieved since they wouldn’t encounter any humans here, at least. They sat down at the table downstairs, Jonathan having helped Julia out of her coat before offering her a blanket, an offer she quietly declined by shaking her head. “So, what happened Julia? How did you end up in Ascalon’s cellar?”, the doctor enquired after a moment of silence, sitting at the woman’s side.

Julia glanced aside, shifting in her chair uncomfortably. “The bloody leeches ambushed me”, she finally mumbled, obviously feeling uncomfortable. “One of them was awaiting me nearby, and he had a woman mesmerised. Started to feckin’ drain her, so ‘f course I intervened. Didn’t sense the other leech before he stabbed me from behind, again and again ‘til I finally blacked out”. She drew in a shaky breath. “I woke up in the cellar, and Lord Redgrave was there, questioning me…”, she continued, now shivering from the memory.

Jonathan placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to reassure her. “He’s dead, Julia. He won’t hurt you again”, he comforted her, squeezing her shoulder gently.

“What did that leech want from you?”, Geoffrey enquired with stern voice, even though his gaze was compassionate.

“He wanted to know ‘bout my maker, ‘bout his plans and whereabouts. ‘f course I couldn’t answer any of his questions, I didn’t even get what he was talking about, first, since he was asking ‘bout my ‘master’. He wasn’t very happy ‘bout that. Bled and starved me at first, but when that didn’t help, he turned on these terrible lights…”, Julia replied, now shaking even more.

“The power in the whole street went suddenly out, that’s what called my attention…”, Jonathan pondered, frowning. “Somebody caused this, went in there for you, am I right? Was it...?”

“My maker”, Julia interrupted him. “Yes. He must have felt my pain, he even… comforted me while I was burning there. Shielded my thoughts from the pain sometimes”.

“Your maker was in that cellar, too? But how…” McCullum replied, irritated.

“He didn’t need to be physically present, McCullum. Powerful ekons have the ability to project their thoughts into their progeny’s minds, and, apparently, they also can hear some of their progeny’s thoughts if they focus on it. I’ve already experienced this myself with my maker”, Jonathan explained to the hunter. _And with my dear Mary_, he added in his mind.

McCullum’s eyes widened. “And you didn’t tell me of this, because…?”, he queried, distressed.

“Since your maker is dead, I didn’t see the need. And hearing voices in your head is nothing you _want_ to address if you don’t have to. You were talking to him when I came into the club, weren’t you?”, Jonathan replied curtly, turning his attention back to the somewhat calmer Julia.

“Aye… he wasn’t too happy ‘bout my plan of setting Ascalon to fire, he was worried about collaterals. I was discussing with him as you came in, and then he suddenly warned me we had to leave and stopped the conversation…”, she explained.

“So, you’re talking with that bloody leech on a regular basis?”, McCullum interfered, still wrought up. “I thought you hate his guts!”

“I wouldn’t call it regular, Geoffrey. ’s not like I can make him start or end a conversation, and he only speaks rarely – well, we also end up arguing, most of the times. But he came helping this night…”, Julia replied, beginning to smile absent-mindedly at the last sentence. “I could feel him moving through the building, killin’ off all those bloody leeches. I don’t think I’ve ever felt a leech ‘s strong as him, his presence felt even stronger than you do, Jonathan”, she continued, shuddering slightly at the last sentence.

Jonathan frowned at that in deep thoughts, while Geoffrey struggled with his next sentence. “You said Arthur’s dead, Reid. Are you sure of that?”, he finally enquired, fearing the answer.

“I... am not entirely sure, no. Myrddin told me that he had failed from ‘saving this land’, so I’ve always assumed it. But why are you asking – did he speak to you?”, Reid replied, his gaze turning sharp.

“No”, Geoffrey answered, shaking his head. “But when I went in that house, I found Redgrave chained, but alive, and I’ve questioned him a little bit. He referred to Julia as my ‘sibling’, told me I’d reek like my maker whose ‘handiwork’ that massacre had been…” he explained.

Jonathan and Julia both drew in a sharp breath. “Julia and you _do_ smell similar, even though I’d have thought it to be impossible to smell the lineage of an ekon, since Lady Ashbury didn’t smell particularly like her father…”, Jonathan stated, pondering.

“But why hasn’t he addressed Geoffrey then, like he did with me? He might speak only rarely, but I can’t claim he’s completely ignoring me”, Julia enquired, her brow furrowed in thought and her gaze momentarily free of the pain that had been lingering in her eyes.

“Maybe he doesn’t know – it’s not like he turned me on purpose”, Geoffrey suggested, shrugging. “That’s possible, isn’t it – or do we leeches feel our progeny?”, he went on, turning to the doctor.

Reid shook his head. “We wouldn’t feel it without looking for it, no, not until the person in question is standing right in front of us…”, he explained, his voice trailing off and his expression pained.

“What aren’t you telling me, Reid!?”, Geoffrey enquired, narrowing his eyes. “This sounds awfully like personal experience. Do we have to worry about progeny of yours?”.

“No, hunter, I made sure of that as she had asked me to”, the doctor replied sternly. “And before you start scolding me, it wouldn’t have happened in the same way if _your_ men hadn’t shot me as I kissed my poor sister goodbye, forcing me to leave her all alone…”, he went on.

“Wait, you _turned_ your sister? I thought you killed her? Why didn’t you tell me that?”, Julia enquired, taken aback.

“I did kill her, Julia, twice even”, Jonathan replied, his voice grave and the pain being evident in his face. “The first time when I awoke and drank her blood and the second time when she was reborn as an ekon and pleaded me to end her suffering. But this wasn’t important for our conversation at that time point, and the very thought of these events still pains me. My sweet sister _pleaded me_ to end her, her mind broken after what _I_ had done to her, so I apologize if I’d rather not poke into this wound more than needed!”

Julia bit her lip with embarrassment at that, deciding to not probe further. “He knows of you. If you’re his progeny he’d know it, I think”, she stated instead, suddenly changing the topic and turning to Geoffrey.

“I guess you’re talking about your maker? He does?”, the hunter enquired, honestly surprised.

“Aye. He said that he had left the club’s house as he felt you approaching, because he wanted to avoid a possible fight with you. So, if he already felt you, he should’ve known then at the latest that you’re his progeny, shouldn’t he? But I didn’t have the feeling he thought of you as his progeny, even though I might be wrong with that. He also said you’re ‘promising’, whatever that means”.

Jonathan’s brows went up. “An ekon who called _McCullum_ of all persons promising? That is odd”. His eyes narrowed in thought. “I think we really should talk to Usher Talltree, Julia. I have the feeling he might hold some answers”.

“I’ve already talked with the primate, Reid, and the brotherhood thinks of Arthur as dead”, Geoffrey intercepted.

The doctor shook his head. “Might be, McCullum, but I’m not thinking of Arthur right now, even though this certainly remains a possibility. Only because the Earl of Bristol thought you and Julia share your sire doesn’t necessarily mean he was right – your similar smell could be a coincidence, especially as I didn’t observe a similar smell with any sire and progeny before. I have to admit, of course, that my experience regarding this topic is very small. I might have an idea about the identity of Julia’s maker, however, but as this is a… sensitive topic I would like to speak with Talltree about it, first”. His gaze turned to Julia again. “We could meet him tomorrow night, if you want to. Today I’ll really need to do some rounds before my shift starts. The flu still hasn’t broken, after all, and the people are still in urgent need of medical care”.

Julia considered that for a moment, before nodding curtly. “Sounds all right to me”, she stated.

“What are you going to do with the blood from that beast Marshal? And what is in this book?”, Geoffrey enquired as Jonathan got up and gathered his things.

“The book contains some knowledge about ekons – the club had a biased view on things, but I still wanted to see if I find something new in there. For the blood – I’ll keep it safe, for now, in case I’ll ever need it again. But I wanted to talk with you about Arthur’s blood. We could do that upstairs, I think Julia could do with some time to herself”, Jonathan answered, giving the hunter a meaningful look.

Understanding, Geoffrey got up, too. “I’ll be back in a minute, so please don’t run off into the canals, will you?”, he stated towards Julia before following the doctor upstairs. They went outside, only starting to talk as they were sure Julia wasn’t able to hear them anymore.

“How bad was it when you found her?”, Jonathan enquired, his voice thick with concern.

“Very”, the hunter stated, shaking his head. “She was not only burnt so badly I wouldn’t have recognised her without my leech senses, but she also talked like a bloody beast, tried to lure me towards her in order to drain me – she wasn’t herself anymore. Bloody hell, I’m not even sure if she’s now, and I’m still afraid I might have to put her down”. He paused for a moment. “Hearing that her mind is not totally snapped since she is _not_ hearing non-existent voices is a relief, however”.

The doctor nodded. “I assumed this had worried you”, he stated, sighing deeply. “I know I can’t ask anything of you, McCullum, and I also know of your bias against vampires, but… seeing what I saw in her demeanour she must have suffered through a lot. She will need support to recover and I am not sure if I can…”

“Cut it, leech. You really think I’d just leave her alone after she has helped me with everything after my turning? Fat chance! Might be you posh West Enders don’t know what it is like to be indebted to someone, but I do. Also, I’d rather have an eye on her, just in case. A crazy leech is even more dangerous than a normal one, after all”.

Jonathan bit back a smile at that. _McCullum caring for a vampire – will wonders ever cease? But then, these two ARE very alike in some ways, no wonder they’re getting along so well._ “I am glad to hear that, McCullum. I’m no expert when it comes to the mind, but… please try to keep her from fighting for now and keep her company, she needs to feel as safe as possible. And listen to her if she wants to talk but don’t…”

“Oh, cut it, will you? I have fought your kind long enough and seen enough men suffering from the terrible things leeches can do to deal with this kind of shit, Reid”.

The doctor nodded sheepishly. “You’re right, and I apologize. I will stop by tomorrow evening to get her for our meeting with Talltree. Having something to put her mind on will certainly help and I also really think the primate might know something. And regarding that flask you’re keeping in your pocket there – don’t you think you should store it in a safer place?”

“That’d be my business, don’t you think? And now sod off, I need to get back to our patient before she does something stupid”, the hunter replied tartly, even though his tone lacked the usual hostility. The two of them parted ways and Geoffrey headed back into the hideout, finding Julia exactly where they had left her. She had placed her feet onto the chair, curling her arms around her legs and was staring into thin air. She turned her gaze shortly towards him as he entered the room, however, even if the troubled look didn’t leave her face. “I’ll try to ask him about you next time he speaks again”, she stated as Geoffrey sat down next to her. “I can’t promise he’ll answer, though, he has a way of ignoring some of my questions”.

The hunter nodded. “Thank you, Julia. I mean it”.

“So, what do we do with the rest of the night? Have the two ‘f you come up with something during your secret conversation?”, she enquired, her gaze somewhat furious but also exhausted.

“I thought about planning our next moves against the remaining Ascalon members”, Geoffrey suggested, his lips curling upwards when he saw the surprise on Julia’s face.

“I thought you two wanted to keep me from hunting, as I’m such a frail little thingy?”, she enquired caustically.

“Nobody thinks you’re frail, Julia”, Geoffrey sighed, putting his next words carefully. “We just think you need some time to rest after what you’ve been through. Everyone would need that. We should leave the fights to next night – this also gives us more time for planning”.

“So, the only reason you’re watching every move I make is ‘cause you think I need _rest_? Go and tell that shit to somebody more naïve, Geoffrey”, Julia replied, furious.

“No. I am eyeing your every move because your behaviour in that cellar was more than unsettling and I am still protecting innocents from monsters”, the hunter stated sharply.

“I see”, Julia said after a short moment, her body tense.

Geoffrey sighed again. “I wouldn’t have freed you if I’d have thought you weren’t still decent. And by god, I’d never have thought I’d _ever_ say this about a leech”, he tried to soothe her, placing one hand on her shoulder and turning her towards him so he could look into her eyes. “I just want to be sure you stay so”, he stated, gazing at her intensely. Julia stared at him for a while, before finally averting her eyes.

“So, do you have any suggestions regarding Ascalon?”, she finally enquired after some minutes of awkward silence.

“Well, normally I’d have searched the club’s house, but we probably won’t be able to do this, considering my men being there…”, he answered with troubled face. “We could try some of the possible hideouts I remember from our list, however. And then I’d assume watching the club’s house also could do some good, as some of the leeches might return there”, he went on.

“Maybe we could also ask Jonathan if he knows more members”, Julia mumbled.

“Ha! And you really think he’ll help us? I have to admit that leech doctor is acting mostly decent, but he’s also protective of his kind”, Geoffrey huffed.

“Might be, but I don’t think he’ll protect those murderous beasts after what they’ve done to me. Also, most of his concerns about attacking the club were because of their strength and their role of maintaining London’s stability when it comes to leeches – both of that shouldn’t be of concern anymore, don’t you think?”.

“Maybe…”, Geoffrey replied, lost in thought, his voice trailing off to silence.

Julia frowned, surprised by the lack of argument. “What’s troubling you? I’d have expected at least one snarky comment ‘bout snooty West-Enders sticking together or something”, she enquired as he didn’t speak further.

“I’m just troubled ‘bout the guard, that’s all”, Geoffrey replied, sighing.

“They’ll be fine, I don’t think even my maker would dare to attack _this_ many guards at once…”, Julia answered, only to be interrupted by the hunter.

“It’s not the leech I’m worried about, Julia. They’d deal with that, that’s what they’ve been trained for, after all. No, it’s their modus operandi that’s worrying me”.

Julia furrowed her brow at that. “Their strategy seemed fine to me – I don’t think we’d have been able to put them out even if we tried and we’re three quite strong leeches”, she stated, confused.

Geoffrey shook his head. “That wasn’t my worry. But attacking a house of a high-ranking club in the _West End_ with this number of men at this hour of night is more than reckless, as it is bound to draw the attention of the officials towards us. The guard has some friends in the Yard, of course, since we wouldn’t be able to operate otherwise, but covering up something like this certainly won’t be easy”. He ran his fingers through his hair. “Also, all of the men inside the building were high-ranking – hell, Thomas took _two_ captains with him! I mean, taking Joseph on such a mission makes sense, considering… but also taking Rob…” he shook his head again, his voice trailing off at the end.

“But doesn’t this make sense? Attacking Ascalon is a dangerous mission, after all, so I’d also not take a rookie for that…”, Julia enquired, her frown deepening.

“True, but especially _because_ it is dangerous, taking two captains along is unwise – if the assault fails and all of them die, Priwen could lose too much of its leadership. Also, having so many commanders at once at the same place and mission usually isn’t needed. So, either Thomas is a worse successor than I’d have thought, or I’m lacking information for his reasoning _and_ this operation was a desperate measure – I’d bet on the latter. Which leads to the question what Ascalon has done to force Thomas to such means. The reduced activity of my men on the streets we’ve observed the last few nights is also not reassuring”.

Julia pursed her lips in thought. “I understand, I think”, she finally stated. “And I have to admit, I was also wondering why they didn’t shoot at us at sight but tried talking with us instead – they didn’t do that any time we encountered them before, and this would’ve been the perfect opportunity for them to end us! But I don’t think we can do much about this, Geoffrey. I’m not up to stalking Priwen again, not right now. Hunting down leeches will certainly help, however!”, she went on, her eyes burning with a new fire.

The hunter sighed at that, his thoughts still restless. “You’re probably right. I guess I’d better share my knowledge about tracking down leech hideouts with you, then”, he finally replied.

They spent the rest of the night with discussing about possibilities of tracking down Ascalon members. And whilst Julia was still jumpy and sometimes absent-minded or overly aggressive, she was getting calmer with every passing hour – much to Geoffrey’s relief. When Jonathan stepped by at the next evening for their meeting with Talltree, she almost seemed to be like her old self, even though he could tell by the look in her eyes she was far from being fully recovered. The three of them split up then, Geoffrey heading out on his own since he highly doubted his presence at the meeting would do any good.

* * *

_This is utter foolishness_ , the hunter thought as he was on his way to Priwen’s headquarters. But he couldn’t stop worrying about his men. Not being able to fight at their side and not having any insight into their actions anymore was driving him mad. He needed at least to try finding out what was going on. Julia had told him of her difficulties to get even close to the headquarters, a fact that had delighted him incredibly at that time point, but now it would make his plan much more challenging. Geoffrey reckoned he would just listen in to the conversations of the patrols securing the streets around the headquarters, hoping that this would already give him some information about the recent developments.

He couldn’t make out anyone as he drew nearer, however, the streets being completely abandoned around the old warehouse Priwen had been using as headquarters for years now. He went carefully closer, his senses fully alert, but he still couldn’t make out anyone. As he was standing right in front of the unguarded door, he felt a feeling of cold foreboding creeping upon him, since he also couldn’t feel anyone inside the building. He gave his surroundings another assessing look and pushed the door open, finding it unlocked. The hunter was greeted by stale air, his soft footsteps echoing slightly in the empty building since most of the furniture had been removed. Frowning in worry, Geoffrey went deeper into the building, looking into several rooms and finding nothing but dust and cobwebs. As he went into the big room that had served the guard as infirmary, however, he was hit by a faint scent of stale blood. Wrinkling his nose in disgust, he looked around, finding several large spots of blood which had only been partially wiped away. He stepped carefully closer to examine them, but they were too stale to even tell if they were from a leech or a human, much less to whom exactly the blood had belonged.

_What has happened here? A fight? It doesn’t look like they left in a hurry though, not with all the furniture gone – I guess it would make sense for them to move now that I’m a leech and all. That doesn’t explain the blood, however._ Lost in thoughts, he got up, checking the vaults as well as the study-bedrooms and the kitchen upstairs. He found all of them being empty, but luckily without traces of spilled blood. Just as he finally decided to leave, as searching an empty building wouldn’t help him figuring things out, he sensed a single man approaching the front door.

_Thomas. What the hell is he doing here, all alone?_ , Geoffrey pondered, heading towards the stairs. _Whatever he wants here, this could be my chance to find out what’s going on. If he doesn’t shoot me, that is. But then he didn’t last night. Also, this building has more enough windows I can use to flee, I just need to be fast enough._ Clinging to this small sliver of hope the ekon shadow-jumped hurriedly down the stairs. He only realised that this hadn’t been the best of his ideas as his former friend, who had just opened the front door, tensed at his sudden appearance and drew his weapon with a fluid motion, aiming it at him.

“Sorry”, Geoffrey said, raising his hands to show that he meant no harm. “I didn’t mean to startle you. Didn’t think it through”, he went on, licking his lips and carefully eyeing Thomas’ revolver, ready to bolt for one of the windows if he needed to.

“You dare coming here, leech? If you want to commit suicide you could have simply told us so last night”, Thomas stated, holding a crucifix in the hand that supported the aim of the revolver.  The cross wasn’t brandished at Geoffrey but showed down to the floor, however, much to the ekon’s relief.

“I’m not. I was surprised to find the headquarters empty, however”, Geoffrey replied calmly. “I guess I should’ve expected it. I’d have done the same if I were you. Can’t have a leech knowing about the exact layout of our headquarters”, he went on, his shoulders sagging slightly.

The other man eyed him suspiciously, not lowering the weapon but also making no move to shoot. “They are not your headquarters anymore, leech. What. Are. You. Doing. Here?”, he enquired sternly.

Geoffrey’s expression went grim. “I was wondering about some things, Tom, so I came to investigate. Priwen has been conspicuously absent from the streets since my… retirement. And I’m also wondering why you haven’t shot me yet – that assault yesterday would’ve been a perfect opportunity. You and the boys could’ve taken out three of the most dangerous leeches in the city at once. So, why did you order them to halt? And why were you so desperate to destroy Ascalon that you didn’t only take half of the captains with you, but also risked attacking a prestigious club in the West End this openly?”, he replied with sharp voice.

The other man scoffed. “You’re seriously thinking I’d tell a _leech_ anything about Priwen’s business?”

The ekon shrugged at that. “You’re talking with me, after all. And you’re much too experienced to let a leech start talking without a reason, being it your former leader and friend or not. You want something from me, so I can just as well try to get something from _you_ ”.

Thomas tilted his head slightly to the side. “You’re still sharp as tack, I have to give you that”, he stated, sighing afterwards and relaxing a little bit – he still had the weapon cocked at Geoffrey’s chest, however. “As you don’t seem to be disinclined to a conversation, either, I guess I’ll try my luck. You want some answers? Then give me ones first, and if I like them I _might_ feel inclined to return the favour”.

Geoffrey gave the leader of Priwen a sharp nod. “Ask away”.

“You and the other two leeches – what exactly were you doing at the Ascalon club? Why had you decided to take them out?”, Thomas queried, giving the ekon a sharp look.

“We didn’t. Take them out, that is. Oh, I was planning to, as those bloody leeches had it more than coming, but somebody got there before me”, Geoffrey replied.

Thomas arched an eyebrow at that. “Somebody got there first? And who’d that be?” he enquired sceptically.

The ekon sighed. “That… is a long story, and I won’t be able to give you a name – not one I’m sure of, at least. You still want to hear it?”, he replied.

“Think of me as intrigued – this sounds at least like an interesting lie”, Geoffrey’s conversation partner answered, gesticulating him to go on.

“Very well. I guess you remember Julia Leigh?”, the ekon asked.

“I do remember that beast. And I’d never have thought you’d stoop so low as bedding Ava’s murderer, you being a leech or not”, Thomas replied, his face disgusted.

“What?”, Geoffrey enquired, taken aback. “We aren’t… Julia helped me a great deal after my transformation, but we aren’t a pair or something, Tom”, he stated after a moment of composing himself. “And she also didn’t kill Ava. Oh, don’t give me that look, it was _you_ who pointed out that our assumptions regarding her were riddled with holes, after all. But that was _not_ the point I was aiming at”. The other man only sceptically arched an eyebrow, but Geoffrey decided to ignore it – there were much more important things to discuss, after all. “Back to the topic. That leech lord, Redgrave, had apparently some quarrel with Julia’s maker. I don’t know the details about that quarrel, but it led him to capture Julia, and to torture her to find out where her Sire hides and what he’s planning – the boys should’ve found the traces of that in that bloody cellar. Problem was, Julia doesn’t know anything ‘bout her maker than that he’s a strong bastard, so she couldn’t give any answers”.

“This still doesn’t explain all the dead leeches or what you and the leech doctor were doing there”, Thomas replied with furrowed brow.

“I was coming to that – it’s the part where shit’s going really strange” Geoffrey went on. “Apparently, the more powerful leeches share some… mental bond with their progeny. Julia said her maker had felt her pain and decided to intervene. You have seen the result of that”. The ekon smiled bitterly. “And I know how _that_ sounds. But this bond would explain a lot when it comes to some of Priwen’s past fights with strong leeches, don’t you think?”

The other man huffed at that, disbelieving. “Still doesn’t explain what you and Reid were doing there”, he finally said, not further responding to Geoffrey’s former explanations.

The ekon shrugged. “Told you, I was planning on taking the club out – I had a mind to observe them, but when I saw the broken balcony door and smelled the blood I investigated, finding Julia being chained in the cellar. I can’t tell you much about Reid, however, he only came by later. Only said that he had been alarmed when the lights on the whole block were suddenly turned off – the posh bastard’s living nearby, after all”.

“Huh. And you also know nothing about Farell’s death?”, Thomas asked after a moment of silence, suddenly changing the topic.

“Angus is dead?”, Geoffrey answered, his eyes widening with shock.

His conversation partner gave only a sharp nod. “And I guess the name Daniel Warner also doesn’t ring any bells?”, he enquired further.

Geoffrey shook his head. “I’m afraid not, no. How did…?”

“That’s none of your business, _leech_ ”.

“He was also my friend, Tom. And I really don’t see how it’d hurt telling me about his end”, Geoffrey stated firmly.

Priwen’s leader only clenched his jaw. “It’s none of your concern, Geoffrey, not anymore. Let’s just say we had some unexpected problems the last few nights and leave it at that”. His gaze sharpened. “You said you hadn’t a _secure_ name of the beast who took Ascalon out? That means you’ve got an unverified one?”

Geoffrey nodded slightly, sighing. “Aye. But we really aren’t sure about any of that. When I came into the club, I found Redgrave being chained, but breathing… I interrogated him a little bit, and he claimed Julia’s maker created progeny smelling very alike him. Well, and as it seems that _I_ am smelling very alike Julia and we know who _my_ maker was…” He smiled bitterly, seeing the other man’s eyes widen. “As I said, we are not sure, as both Reid and the brotherhood had assumed Arthur being dead. I did not hear the voice of my maker like Julia does, however, even though he might have not known about my existence until last night…”

“But if I believe what you’ve told me about strong leeches and their progeny, shouldn’t he be able to feel you?”, Thomas enquired, his scepticism shortly drowned by his curiosity.

“I asked Reid the same question”, Geoffrey replied, grinning dryly. “He said he’d only feel it if I’d stand in front of him”. He narrowed his eyes. “Which reminds me: There’s another thing you’d better be aware of: Reid created progeny”.

“Whom?”, Thomas enquired, aghast.

“Remember the lady that leech drained when he awoke?”, Geoffrey enquired.

The other man’s face darkened. “Of course I do. Fucking beast killed his own sister – only shows what monsters you are”

Geoffrey huffed at that. “I can’t argue with that. But, in fact, Reid didn’t only drain her. He turned her, by accident, apparently”.

“You know where the beast hides?”, Thomas enquired with grim visage.

The ekon shook his head. “Reid claims he put her down when he found out, but I’m not sure if I believe him. I wanted to do some investigation on that, but I thought I’d better warn you. If that beast is still alive, she ought to be almost as strong as her maker”.

The leader of Priwen nodded thoughtfully, suddenly chuckling darkly. “If I could believe anything you’re saying, this’d be a most enlightening conversation, leech”, he stated dryly, sobering.

Geoffrey sighed. “I cannot prove the truth of my words to you, Tom. You’ll have to do that yourself, if you decide so”.

Thomas shook his head. “I’d like to believe your words, Geoffrey, I really do. But you are a leech, and I cannot trust you. I will investigate the things you have told me, however”.

Geoffrey nodded. “I guess you won’t tell me why there’s a fat blood spot in the infirmary, or why you are so intent on talking with me, then?”, he enquired.

The other man shook his head. “I told you, it’s not your business anymore. I’m showing too much leniency by not shooting you on the spot, already”.

The ekon sighed. “I see. Is this the moment where you try to shoot me and I run away, then?”, he enquired, knowing that he wouldn’t get any more answers about the guard from his former friend.

“I should. But you _have_ cooperated, at least as far as I can tell, and I am not green enough to willingly pick a fight with an ekon single-handedly without proper preparation. I’d suggest we just part ways peacefully – for now”.

“For now”, Geoffrey replied, nodding and slowly retreating.

“And… Geoffrey?”, Thomas said, just as the ekon was opening the closest window.

“What is it?”, Geoffrey enquired.

“If you really _have_ to stalk the boys, could you at least either make sure they don’t see you or have the decency to let them end you? You showing up together with that she-beast frequently without any warning but staying elusive makes them quite nervous”, Thomas stated, his voice smug.

“Tch. Only trains their awareness”, Geoffrey snorted, his lips twitching into a sad grin, and vanished through the window into the night.


	19. Research

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a shorter one, apologies for that - the next chapter will be longer again. But I guess the information in here might also compensate for the length :)
> 
> Also, I did a double update today, so if you haven't read 'Enlightening Conversations' yet, I'd suggest you do so first.

“How do you feel?”, Jonathan enquired, he and Julia just having left Stonebridge cemetery and heading towards the West End for their meeting with Talltree. The woman shrugged, her gaze fixed on the ground.

“I… don’t really know, Jonathan”, she finally replied, looking up into his face before averting her eyes again. “I have the feeling that I should be sore, my body should be hurting terribly after… all of this. But it doesn’t – physically I’m fine. Not even overly thirsty anymore”, she continued.

“But your mind isn’t”, the doctor stated, assessing her compassionately.

“No. It isn’t”. She drew in a deep breath. “It’s better than last night, I’m not so _angry_ anymore, don’t feel the urge to make everyone around me hurting ‘s much as I did. But I’m still feelin’ like I’m teetering on the very brink of the abyss, and I’m not sure if I’m not going to fall – Geoffrey’s right to keep a close eye on me”.

“I don’t think you’ll fall, Julia. I would be more worried if these events hadn’t left any marks”, Jonathan replied gently.

“Maybe. But you weren’t there when Geoffrey found me, Jonathan”, Julia answered, locking her eyes with his. “I… I tried to mesmerize him – I wanted to _kill_ Geoffrey, not because he’s a leech or has done anything, but only to get his blood! I was like the very beasts I hunt, worse even! What if this happens ever again and I’m not restrained? I’m almost thinking Ava has made a big mistake when not shooting me”, she went on, her voice trembling slightly with the fear and horror of both the memory and her worry.

The doctor shook his head. “I have already told you, you cannot have your life being dictated by ‘what ifs’, Julia. Yes, we, as vampires, are dangerous to everyone who surrounds us. But only us being _capable of_ causing great harm, doesn’t necessarily mean that we _will_ cause it. The most important thing is: You might have wanted to harm the hunter, but you didn’t”. He sighed softly as he saw her defiant expression. “You might not see it, Julia, but by doing what you have been doing every night during the last few weeks you have saved many lives. Yes, you being what you are is a risk, but it can also be an opportunity”. He smiled slightly. “Who’d be a better vampire hunter than a vampire, after all”.

Julia’s eyes widened. “’Fighting fire with fire’…”, she whispered.

“Yes. I have had reasons to suggest talking to Talltree. And before you ask, no, I cannot share them with you – not right now. These are secrets not mine to reveal”.

Julia furrowed her brow at that and the next minutes went by in silence as she pondered about what he had said. Jonathan used the way to stop by at some of his patients, even though he avoided Whitaker as he had the feeling Julia wasn’t up to hearing about ‘cleansing the world with fire’, right now. He also couldn’t claim to be sad about not having to put up with the man’s ramblings.

* * *

Stale, cold air greeted them as they stepped down into the crypt beneath temple church. When he first met him, Jonathan had been wondering for what reason the primate of the brotherhood of St Paul’s Stole spent his nights in this cold crypt, but after finding Dragonbane hidden here he assumed the brotherhood was also protecting other secrets in this place. He could see Julia looking around curiously, taking a moment to investigate the stepping stones creating the riddle that had guarded Dragonbane, before Jonathan urged her to move on, the two of them heading for the room the primate usually resided in.

“Jonathan Reid! And again, the cards have been correct – good evening to you and your most interesting immortal friend”, the voice of the primate greeted them.

“Good evening, Usher”, Jonathan greeted the man with a friendly smile. “Julia, this is Usher Talltree, the primate of the brotherhood of St Paul’s Stole. Usher, this is Julia Leigh, a newborn ekon I recently made the acquaintance of”, he introduced the two.

“It is always interesting to converse with your kind and it is my pleasure to meet you, Ms Leigh”, Talltree answered.

Julia arched an eyebrow at that. “It is? So, you’re not worried at all that I might rip your throat out? I guess I shouldn’t have expected anythin’ else from the very leader of a group of leech friends”, she replied sarcastically.

The primate leaned back in his chair, fingering his beard. “There seems to be quite an accumulation of immortal Priwen guards, these days”, he muttered to himself, before continuing aloud “But as much as I am surprised by the allegiance of you two, I would assume you have brought her here for a reason, Jonathan. Can I help you in any way?”

“Yes, you can indeed”, Jonathan answered before Julia could reply. “But to clear up any misunderstandings – Julia is not with Priwen, nor was she ever, even if she shares some of their views regarding immortals. She was turned some weeks ago in Dublin and found herself in a similar situation as I did, since she does not know the identity of her maker. We were hoping you might be able to help us in that regard”.

The tan man arched an eyebrow. “The brotherhood might be observing the activities of some immortals, but we do not know their every move, Jonathan. I also do not see why you are searching for the young lady’s maker here in London if she was turned in Dublin”, he replied.

“I know he’s in London”, Julia intercepted. “I could feel his presence here. Also, he was the one who urged me comin’ here. He just wouldn’t shut up before. He’s… quite strong, I think, with everything that entails”, she continued uncomfortably when she saw the primates questioning look.

Jonathan nodded, adding “He was strong enough to take out seven of Ascalon’s members single-handedly, Lord Redgrave amongst them”.

“The Earl of Bristol is no more?”, Talltree enquired, genuinely surprised.

The doctor nodded curtly. “Yes. Whoever did this seemed to have quite some practice with fighting vampires. We are also assuming that he had some sort of conflict with the club before. And he mentioned some quite interesting things during his conversations with Julia. He told her, for example, that he had turned her to ‘fight fire with fire’. And he called _Geoffrey McCullum_ of all persons a promising ekon. These things led me to believe that Julia’s maker might be a nemrod”. He smiled thinly. “And I do know that the brotherhood knows of at least one nemrod. So, I’ll be blunt: Is it possible that this nemrod I’m speaking of is Julia’s Sire?”

“I see”, Talltree replied after a moment, nodding thoughtfully, his gaze turning now to Julia. “But whilst I agree to the possibility that your maker might be the kind of immortal Jonathan here is assuming, I can assure you that the nemrod in question has not left this island in centuries. Thus, him being your Sire is impossible”.

“And what the hell is a ‘nemrod’?”, Julia enquired, frowning. “And how’d you know if some leech hasn’t moved his arse from the island? What leech are you even referring to?”

“Some secrets are not meant to be revealed, Ms Leigh, even not to an immortal. But to answer your previous question: a nemrod is an immortal who decidedly only feeds on other immortals”. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “They are only found very seldomly however, and I am wondering… it might be possible that he finally came back”, he stated. Before Julia could enquire whom he meant, the primate smiled enigmatically and began to rummage through some of the notes and books that were lying on his desk. “I have, in fact, some material in store about this topic”, he continued, bringing two books to light. “I had actually prepared this for our dear hunter, as he will be seeking answers as soon as he finally swallows his pride and decides to step out of the boundaries laid upon him by his and his predecessors’ believes. But I don’t see a reason why you shouldn’t also have a look at them, especially since the fates of you two seem to be interweaved”.

Frowning, Julia took the two books he was offering her and examined them. One was a big, heavy tome which seemed to be newly printed, having the title ‘Unveiling the night’ imprinted on its spine. The other one was a small notebook, apparently handwritten.

“The notebook contains the notes one of our members has made about his encounters with an immortal we know by the name ‘Nimrod’. It is only a copy made by me, so you may keep it”, Talltree explained, nodding to the small book in Julia’s hand. “You might have noticed the similarities of his name and the term nemrod. My predecessor has, in fact, decided to name the species after him. He is, aside from the nemrod Jonathan mentioned, the only other of his kind the brotherhood had ever been able to encounter from face to face, even though he had vanished after the sudden death of his contact in the brotherhood. Considering recent developments, it might be possible he has returned to this city, however, and he _might_ be your maker or know of him, at least”, the man continued.

Julia assessed the notebook now with excited curiosity, placing the larger book on the desk in front of her and flipping the first page of the notebook open whilst Jonathan curiously craned his neck to also have a look at the content. As the female ekon read the title and Author written on the first page, she drew in a sharp breath. _‘Notes on the legendary hunter’ by Valentin Holland_. “That can’t be…”, Julia muttered, her head snapping up and her gaze fixing the man in front of her. “You said the contact that leech had in your organisation died suddenly?”, she enquired sharply.

“Yes, indeed, he…”, the primate answered, being interrupted by Julia.

“Was he murdered? In 1902, here, in London?”

“Yes, but how…”

“So, he was with your lot for quite some time? And how did he really die? Did the leech he was interacting with end him?”, she interrupted him again, her voice shaking.

The primate as well as Jonathan were staring at her, eyes widened. “He was killed by an immortal, since his body was completely drained of all its blood. We do not believe Nimrod to be his murderer, however”, the primate finally stated with a low and firm voice.

“Did you know Mr Holland?”, Jonathan enquired, concerned.

The huntress nodded, trembling slightly. “Aye. I did. Valentin Holland… was the name of my grandpa. He was murdered in 1902 on one of his business trips to London – he had travelled often into this city, since our company had a lot of business partners here. Took us kids even sometimes with him, as kind of a holiday trip. His murderer was never found”, she explained, her voice sounding aloof.

Talltree’s eyes widened. “You’re Wilhelm Holland’s daughter?” Julia nodded curtly. “’The return of a forgotten past’ – sometimes the truth of the cards is misleading, even for me”, the tan man muttered, shaking his head. “How did you end up in Dublin? Did you marry?”, he finally enquired after a moment of silence.

Julia shook her head. “No. My aunt adopted me after the death of my parents. I took the last name of her and her husband, made some things easier”.

“I am sorry to hear that – Valentin was a great soul, and hearing that his family has befallen such a dire fate…” The primate sighed.

Julia scoffed. “Well, parts for that ‘dire fate’ seem to be my grandpa’s own feckin’ fault, don’t you think? I can’t believe that him bein’ killed by a bloody _leech_ and me being turned into one can be a coincidence!”, she exclaimed, her face contorted into a pained grimace.

“I understand your pain, Ms Leigh, and I agree that your turning by a nemrod probably isn’t coincidental. But I am sure this was never Valentin’s intention”, Talltree replied soothingly. Julia just stared at him, before she grabbed the other book that was still lying on the table and vanished in front of the man’s eyes.

“I apologize”, Jonathan stated after a moment, still taken aback from the events just transpired. “I will make sure she returns the books”, he continued.

The other man shook his head. “There is no need, Jonathan, for both. I understand that this news must be quite unsettling for her, it is even for me. And I am not often surprised by anything. As for the books – I had given up on these copies as soon as I decided to hand them over to the hunter. If you just could make sure he gets them eventually, I’d rather not have him visiting here again”.

The doctor nodded. “Julia will probably show them to McCullum anyway”, he stated.

The primate nodded thoughtfully. “Be warned, young ekon. The danger surrounding us has not ended yet, as impressive your actions regarding this terrible epidemic have been. A forgotten enemy is raising his head and you will not be able to defeat him alone. The two hunters should better face their devils, otherwise they might be failing in the end. Tell them that. And you should also give them _this_ ”, he added, handing Jonathan a bottle of blood, smiling slightly as he saw the doctor’s expression. “I would assume you know _whose_ it is by now, Jonathan, and he has always rewarded the strong-willed, especially in trying times like these are. They might need it considering the perils awaiting”.

Jonathan nodded thoughtfully and stuffed the bottle into his coat. “I will make sure they’ll get it. And I thank you for your help”.

“Guiding young ekons as you are onto the right path is a part of the brotherhood’s duties, Jonathan”.

The doctor inclined his head. “Goodbye then, sir. Until we meet again”

“Until we meet again”.

Julia stood motionless on one of the rooftops nearby the church, thoughts swirling inside her head. _Have you killed him?_ , she asked, trying to reach out to her maker. She received no answer. Snarling furiously, she punched against a chimney, crimson tears running over face. “Answer me!”, she shouted, not even knowing if he could hear her. If so, he stayed decidedly quiet.

* * *

After some time, she could see Jonathan emerging from the crypt, his gaze searching the rooftops. Ashamed of leaving him and the primate so suddenly – they had only been trying to help her, after all – Julia shadow-jumped next to the other ekon. He winced a little bit at her sudden approach, but his voice was calm as he addressed her. “I was worried you might have left on your own”, he stated.

“I just needed a lil bit of air. I’m sorry to have left like this – I’d probably better apologize to Mr Talltree”, Julia replied self-consciously.

“Probably. But he did not seem to be very offended – this is an unusual situation, after all. You could apologize, however, when you also thank him for this”, he stated, handing the bottle with blood over to her.

“Whose is that? And where did you get it?”, Julia enquired, confused.

“It is a gift Talltree gives to ekons with a will strong enough to restrain themselves from taking human lives. As to whom it belongs…” He smiled enigmatically. “I am not entirely sure, but I assume it is a donation of somebody quite powerful. The bottle I have received has saved my life when battling the Red Queen, as it was able to heal almost incapacitating wounds in mere seconds. You and the hunter would do well to keep it safe until you need it, as it was a donation to both of you”.

Julia frowned slightly but placed the bottle carefully into the pocket of her coat. “I guess I will thank him when I return the books”, she stated. _And maybe also ask some questions regarding its source since Jonathan isn’t exactly forthcoming with information._ The doctor nodded at that, lost in thoughts. The two of them went silent, heading towards Whitechapel. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised”, Julia stated after a while, the two of them already moving through the now silent streets of Whitechapel as they were heading to Stonebridge cemetery. Jonathan shot her a questioning look. “My grandpa belonging to some secret association dealing with vampires, I mean. He _was_ always a lil bit weird and secretive, and he _did_ tell us a lot about vampires that has been proven true”. The huntress sighed. “I just wonder if… it was my maker who killed him. And if grandpa knowing Nimrod led to me bein’ turned”.

The doctor nodded, lost in thoughts. “I think you should read his notes, maybe they’ll give you some answers. And Talltree asked me to make sure McCullum also has a look on these books – I guess you’d show it to him anyway, but please make sure he doesn’t destroy them”.

“Why would Geoffrey do something like that? Seriously, Jonathan, I know the two of you don’t hold each other in high regards, but he’s no savage”, Julia replied, irritated.

Jonathan arched a brow. “It was not my intention to claim that, but Priwen _has_ a history of destroying books containing knowledge they are not approving of”.

“They have? Now that’s a stupid thing to do”, Julia answered.

The other ekon only hummed his approval, the two of them falling into silence again. Their journey back to the hideout went quite uneventful, as they did encounter neither skals nor Priwen patrols and the two of them spent it mostly with idle chatter about day-to-day problems, mainly about their disability to face the sun. Before they split up since Jonathan wanted to do some more research before his shift started, he shared the primate’s warning with her and even though Julia had her doubts regarding the fortune-telling, she promised to be on the lookout for possible dangers. Her thoughts still swirling around the things Talltree had explained, Julia unlocked the door to the hideout. Much to her surprise, Geoffrey was already back from his hunt, his tall frame being crouched over the city map where they had been marking possible leech hideouts yesterday.

“Did Talltree know anything?”, he enquired as Julia stepped into the room.

“Hello to you, too, Geoffrey. And yes, I think one could say that”, Julia replied, throwing herself into one of the armchairs in front of the fireplace and telling the hunter everything she and Jonathan had found out, showing him the books.

“Your grandfather was one of those stole bastards?”, Geoffrey enquired when she was done, whistling softly.

“Apparently. And ‘s mad as I am at him at the moment as this may have led to my turning, I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t call him a ‘bastard’, Geoffrey. He still was my grandpa”, Julia replied sternly.

The hunter scoffed. “Sorry. Wasn’t meant personally, I just despise these traitors”.

“That’s obvious”, Julia stated, flipping curiously through the pages of the notebook. “You’re back early from your hunt”, she finally stated absent-mindedly.

Geoffrey shrugged. “Weren’t many skals about and I thought you’d want to accompany me when hunting for Ascalon”.

Julia nodded, a malicious smile spreading on her lips. “Yeah, definitely”. Her eyes lit up with a fierce fire. “Wouldn’t wanna miss seeing those beasts suffer”. She sighed, inwardly torn. Finally, she made a decision. “But I want to read through the notebook, first. It wouldn’t stop botherin’ me if I didn’t”.

Geoffrey nodded his understanding. “I always hated wasting time with this kind of research, but it is important to do. While you’re going through your grandfather’s notes, I’d like to have a look at the other book, if you don’t mind. I think having more information about nemrods could be helpful”.

“’f course. Help yourself”, Julia replied, opening the notebook and snuggling down into the chair.

“You already found something interesting?”, Geoffrey enquired after some time, lowering the book he had been reading in.

“Interesting, yes, but not really helpful”, Julia replied. “Apparently my grandpa had met Nimrod in London, just as he ended the life of another ekon and approached him out of curiosity”

“That sounds like a stupid thing to do”, the hunter answered, raising an eyebrow.

Julia shrugged. “It does, but then my grandpa was always more curious than was good for him. ‘til the point I am at he doesn’t even seem to have gotten Nimrod’s name. Only thing he’s gathered is that he has to be quite old – some of the things he writes here would probably be very interestin’ for a historian. But have you found something new?”, she enquired.

Geoffrey shook his head. “Not really. The information in here about nemrods is scarce, to put it lightly. But it seems to contain some interesting stuff about leech legends – _if_ the words in this book are the truth, of course”.

“Huh”.

* * *

The next half an hour went by silently, until Julia suddenly burst out into laughter. “What is it?”, Geoffrey enquired, flinching slightly at her sudden outburst.

“’s just so ridiculous…”, Julia managed to say between some chuckles, taking a moment to gather herself again before continuing, still smirking. “According to this, the fairy-tale snow-white stems from an incidence with a leech”, she finally stated.

“What?”, the hunter replied, surprised. Julia nodded, grinning.

“Yep. According to Nimrod, snow-white was the daughter of some monarch an’ was turned into a leech, but her father couldn’t bring himself to end her. When her stepmom found out, however, she hired a vampire hunter – huh, obviously that was already a thing – but the monster managed to escape and hid in some mine, turning the place into a death zone for several years. Well, if you don’t count the miners she had mesmerized who were constantly helpin’ her in her ventures”. Her eyes scanned the page. “Apparently, after her stepmom tried to end her several times without success, ‘snow-white’ mesmerised some noble who took the castle from her family, but before she could cause even more chaos, Nimrod put an end to her. The noble never got over the loss and with that the tale was born – how very romantic.”, she continued, smirking, but then furrowing her brow. “Apart from the very beginning, that’s the first time my grandpa wrote somethin’ ‘bout Nimrod killing off other leeches since I’ve started reading – I wonder if that leech held information back on purpose or if he only occasionally hunts his own kind”.

Geoffrey shrugged. “Probably that titbit comes later, wouldn’t make sense to name a whole subspecies of leeches after him, otherwise. Or the brothers are not only traitors but also incapable”, he smirked. Julia only scoffed and read on.

More than an hour later, she finally closed the book with thoughtful look. “I think…”, she started, gaining the attention of the hunter who had just been in the process of reading some quite interesting information of a leech resembling the Minotaur, filing away any information that might be useful if he ever encountered such a creature “… that Nimrod actually _could_ be my maker”, Julia finished her sentence when Geoffrey finally looked up. “The description of his personality seems to fit the things I know of him”.

The other ekon hummed in response, before enquiring “Any hints about him and Arthur being the same person?”

Julia shook her head. “No, there’s nothing ‘bout Arthur in here. But there’s also nothin’ that’d _contradict_ this theory, either. According to my grandpa, however, Nimrod claims to feed only from other vampires, having never killed a human to sate his thirst. He also seems to be very methodical in his hunt. In the last note, my grandpa writes he wants to help him…” Her voice trailed off. “I wonder if it was this that had cost his life”, she ended quietly.

Geoffrey sighed. “Wouldn’t be the worst way to go – wouldn’t have thought one of that stole brothers had the spine”

“Yeah, killed off by a leech while hunting them, great way to go”, Julia groused angrily. “Nevertheless, there’s nothing more in it, and I’m still not sure if that Nimrod is my maker or not”, she finished, lying the book aside.

“So, you’re finally up for hunting?”, Geoffrey enquired.

“I am”, Julia replied with a malicious grin. They spent the next hour discussing heatedly the best course of action, as Julia wanted to take out the remaining Ascalon members one by one and as soon as possible whilst Geoffrey planned on baiting them to come back to the club and attack then, when a sudden knock at one of the doors leading to the outside interrupted them.

“What’s Reid doing here? Shouldn’t that nefarious leech be off at Pembroke playing doctor?”, the hunter enquired as his senses showed him Jonathan’s form hovering behind the door.

Julia frowned, getting up and striding towards the entrance. “Must be urgent”, she stated, unlocking the door and opening it afterwards, revealing a distressed looking Jonathan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, Julia finally has an idea of the possible identity of her maker. And you probably know now why I used 'nemrod' instead of 'Nimrod' in that chapter before. I basically had the idea of Nimrod being a person since the note in the game says
>
>> What about the Nimrod, the myhical figure of the restless vampire _hunter_ , sometimes described by ancestral British Ekons as a legendary _huntsman_ who only feeds on his prey's blood and could go unnoticed amongst the mortals and the immortals.
> 
> Hunter and huntsman - both singular, as if referring to one person. And while I found the theories of 'Nimrods' being a species of vampires intriguing, I still wanted to stick with that original thought I had when first reading the note. Regarding the term nemrod: I had the idea of just spelling it differently because I stumbled on this kind of spelling in some fanfiction - I think it might've been Resistance Admittance, but I'm not sure anymore.
> 
> Also, you have to thank my beta for the new snow-white legend. She just has this kind of crazy but delightful ideas and I couldn't help myself from putting it in.


	20. Abduction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, let's see what left Jonathan so distressed, shall we?

Jonathan found Pembroke as busy and overwhelmed with patients as always. Knowing that if he dawdled too long, he wouldn’t be able to do any more research today his shift being still hours away or not, he hurried towards the stairs, only to be intercepted by an exhausted looking Pippa Hawkins. “ Dr Reid! There you are – Dr Ackroyd has been looking for you, it seemed quite urgent”, she greeted him.

“Good evening nurse Hawkins. Did he say what he wanted?”, Jonathan enquired, sighing silently.

The nurse shook her head. “No, but he seemed quite upset”.

“Well, I’ll better go and see what this is about right away, then. I assume he is still in the office?”, the doctor replied. Pippa nodded, and Jonathan went upstairs, heading towards the administrator’s office. _I wonder what Waverley wants – I really hope he doesn’t want a new report about my research. I have already too much to do as it is._ Bracing himself, the ekon knocked at the office door, stepping inside as the irritated voice of his colleague invited him in.

“Ah, doctor Reid! So, you are back from your rounds through the city, I assume?”, the transient administrator greeted him, looking up from a pile of papers lying on the desk.

“Yes. Nurse Hawkins said you were looking for me?”, Jonathan replied, coming to a halt in front of the desk.

“Indeed. Do you have any news regarding our missing patients?”, the other doctor enquired, his voice having a touch of nervousness.

The ekon shook his head. “Nothing I have not already told you – neither of them has returned to their family nor been seen by anyone. I assume you did inform the police as I had suggested?”

Dr Ackroyd nodded, but his face was grim. “I did, but apparently the officers have more pressing matters than to be bothered with incidents in the… poorer districts, especially in case of influenza patients. We are on our own I’m afraid”, he replied wearily.

Jonathan frowned at that. “And what do you want from me? I have already told you everything I know, and I am neither an investigator nor a politician but a doctor – as you have remarked so appropriately, Pembroke needs every staff member it has working”.

“I know very well what I have said, Dr Reid, and we indeed need every single head of our staff, but I am desperate”, Dr Ackroyd replied, ruffling through his hair, the exhaustion showing in his face. “This evening, another patient vanished – Mr Goswick. Mrs Goswick said she only left the room for a few minutes to visit the lady’s room, and when she returned, he was gone. As you can probably imagine, she is raising a hue and cry. I know that this is not within the area of your responsibilities, but I found in Dr Swansea’s notes – even though he had kept it very vague – that you already have successfully conducted an investigation for him regarding a blackmailing affair and I was hoping you could help this hospital again. That woman has enough influence to see to Pembroke’s closure and, truth to be told, if it wasn’t for the epidemic we’d be closed already, things being here as they are”.

Jonathan sighed heavily at that, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Have you already questioned the staff or other patients? Considering this patient’s mental state, it is quite possible that he left by his own accord”, he finally enquired after a moment of contemplation.

“I have asked some of them, but they didn’t seem to know anything, and I have a lot to do, Dr Reid. I assume you will be helping in this matter, then?”

Jonathan nodded. “I will, but this might take some time and I cannot promise you anything”.

The other man inclined his head. “Then I will see you to be exempted from your shifts until this matter is solved – having one doctor more working will not save the hospital if Mrs Goswick follows through with her warnings, after all. You are dismissed”, he replied, already returning to the papers on his desk, the worried frown never leaving his face.

_I wonder what else Dr Ackroyd has found in Edgar’s notes. Blasted! I could have sworn I’ve removed all sensitive information from the office before leaving for Scotland_, Jonathan pondered worriedly as he went downstairs. He sighed and headed towards Mr Goswick’s room. _ONE quiet night, that’d be all I ask for!_ , he thought as he stepped inside the room, facing the irate Beatrice Goswick who was just in a furious conversation with Dr Strickland.

“I have turned a blind eye to the condition this hospital is in, doctor, I even have accepted the extortion to get my son a bed here since the situation was desperate, but if any harm befell my dear Mortimer, I will see to Pembroke’s closure!”

“I assure you we are doing our best to…”, the nervous Dr Strickland tried to calm the woman.

“Good evening, Mrs Goswick, and good evening, Thoreau”, Jonathan intercepted, since he could see Mrs Goswick already starting for a furious answer and he wanted to safe his poor colleague from the woman’s wrath.

“Dr Reid! Finally, somebody capable!”, the woman exclaimed, turning her attention to the ekon. “I had not only to suffer from extortion and incapability as well as the fear of being attacked by a maniac, but now also my son has vanished! And if the rumours are correct, this has not been the first case! Has anyone considered calling in the police? Or is this ‘hospital’ too busy with hiding their incompetence and dire state!?”, she continued, glaring daggers at Jonathan.

“The police have already been informed days ago, Mrs Goswick, but the officers seem to be too busy with incidents in other districts. You would do well to focus your energy against them and not against our staff, which is doing its best to deal with the resources we are having at our hands”, the ekon answered, shooting the troubled Dr Strickland a reassuring glance. The woman scoffed furiously, but Jonathan continued before she could reply. “Since we can’t rely on the police’s assistance, the transient administrator has asked me to perform an investigation regarding this matter, within my capabilities, of course. Could it be possible that Mortimer left on his own accord?”

Mrs Goswick shook her head. “You should know better than I do that there were complications with the healing of the wound at his throat, so why should he leave, especially without saying a word?”, she replied.

“You know as well as I do that it would not be the first time, he tries to… leave, Mrs Goswick – has he shown any indication to do such a thing, more than usually, at least?”, Jonathan replied with compassionate voice.

“No, and if this would have been his plan, he would have left something for me to find him! He would not hurt me like that by leaving without any clue where he went!”

Jonathan decided to leave this remark uncommented, as his thoughts would probably be considered as quite unpolite and turned to his colleague instead. “Thoreau, do you know if anyone has seen Mortimer leaving?”

The other doctor shook his head. “I don’t think so, Dr Reid – I have already questioned most of the patients as well as most of the night shift except nurse Branagan. Well, and Mr Chadana, of course”, he replied, looking relieved to be not the target of Mrs Goswick’s wrath anymore.

Jonathan sighed. “I will try my luck with nurse Branagan, then”.

“I will accompany you”, Mrs Goswick said eagerly, already moving towards the door.

“ **No. I am more than capable of inducting this investigation without your help.** If you want to make yourself useful, you could try to call in the police, however, maybe your social standing will do what Dr Ackroyds pleadings couldn’t”, the ekon stopped her.

The woman nodded, her eyes glazing over. “I think I can try that”, she agreed, fumbling at her purse absent-mindedly.

“I will inform you if I find anything”, Jonathan stated curtly, already moving out of the room.

“I’d never have thought _anybody_ could stop her from accompanying you – you are quite convincing, Dr Reid!”, an excited Dr Strickland exclaimed, following the ekon out of the room.

“I have been told so”, Jonathan replied curtly, his gaze searching for the nurse using his vampire senses. He found her form being hovering at the makeshift morgue. He strode towards her determinedly, feeling relieved as Dr Strickland excused himself, muttering he needed to look after his patients. _Mr Chadana’s absence is quite unfortunate – not only does it mean more work for the nurses since somebody has to deal with the corpses, but he would have been one of the best chances for a witness if Mortimer indeed tried to leave the hospital secretly_.

“Good evening, Nurse Branagan”, the doctor greeted the exhausted looking nurse, who was just in the progress of locking the door of the fence surrounding the small area the unclaimed corpses were kept in.

“Good evening Dr Reid – can I be of assistance?”, the woman answered, turning around to the ekon.

“That depends. Have you seen Mr Goswick this evening? It seems he has gone missing”.

The nurse shook her head. “Another one? I thought Dr Ackroyd already had informed the police!? But no, I have not seen him, I’m afraid”, she replied. “You could try asking Mr Chadana, however, I have seen him nearby Mr Goswick’s room earlier this evening”.

Jonathan arched a brow. “He’s back, then? But why isn’t he here?”

“I am not sure where he is now. He still looked rather pale and I didn’t engage in conversation, but I assumed him to be recovered – I had to bring our latest deceased here myself, however, as I couldn’t find him anywhere right now”, the woman replied. Frowning, Jonathan thanked her, lost in thoughts.

_There were no traces of blood or a fight in Mortimer’s room, and any commotion would have been noticed by somebody. Also, the question remains why nobody has seen him leaving, he had to pass several patients for only leaving the room! If he didn’t go through the window, of course, but why would he do that? His mother might be determined to stay at his side, but I can’t imagine the boy taking such desperate measures. And then there’s also Mr Chadana – I wouldn’t have thought him calling sick unnecessarily. So, why was he here after a week of absence but neither to work nor for treatment?_

Jonathan’s eyes widened as a sudden realisation hit him. _Mr Chadana called in sick just before the first patients vanished! What if this is no coincidence? What if he’s also a victim, or the culprit?_ He had to find the man, as soon as possible. His senses told him after a quick stroll through the hospital floors that he was nowhere inside the building, so Jonathan decided to try the man’s flat. Getting the address from Dr Ackroyd was easy as soon as Jonathan explained his trail of thought. Shortly after, the ekon found himself in front of an old, but solid looking building down at the docks, knocking at the door of a flat in the second storey. His knocks received no answer, however, and his senses told him that no one was inside. Worried, Jonathan left the building and rounded it in order to jump on the balcony he had spotted when arriving – maybe he could take a look inside through one of the windows from there to see if there were any signs of a struggle.

He found all the curtains being closed and blocking his view, however, but when he tried the balcony door it opened easily, letting the doctor step into a sparely furnished living room. _No barrier stopping me from entering? That is never a good sign…_ , Jonathan thought worriedly, while his gaze drifted through the room. He found nothing to be obviously amiss, and the same applied to the small kitchen. As he went into the bedroom, however, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.

_There’s old blood on the floor next to the bed – not much, but enough to come from a more severe wound._ Moving cautiously through the room, he examined his surroundings more closely. Apart from the blood that had called the attention of his vampiric senses efficiently, there were several pieces of furniture slightly damaged, as if somebody had scratched them with something sharp or, in some cases, as if they had been moved forcibly through the room and then placed back to where they belonged afterwards. In front of one of the walls was a small desk which was cluttered with several pieces of papers, many of them being in quite a sorry state as they were crumbled and partly smeared with blood. Two of them, which were lying on the top, were clean and uncreased, however. Curiously, Jonathan took a closer look at them.

_That’s a termination note for a rental agreement of a building nearby, as well as a new renting contract for the same building. Huh, the termination note is from a while ago, must have been before Mr Chadana had been hired at Pembroke hospital._ He furrowed his brow. _But the new agreement is only a week old – if he called in sick, why would he rent a building?_ Reckoning it was better than no lead, Jonathan took the note and searched the rest of the rooms, finding nothing but noticing that some of the man’s clothes seemed to be gone as the wardrobe was suspiciously empty.

* * *

The address of the building Mr Chadana had rented turned out to be a run-down funeral parlour. _Mr Chadana had mentioned being an undertaker before getting employed at Pembroke_ , Jonathan pondered while focusing his senses on the house. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw an unexpected human form inside. _Mortimer? And there’s a vampire next to him…_ Concerned, he strode towards the building’s door, finding it unlocked. The front room was almost empty, only a few pieces of furniture being left. The doctor could hear a voice talking from the backroom, however.

“I know you are in pain, sir, and I will see you to be relieved of it as soon as possible, but things have to be done properly. You see, some things are much easier to do when the soul is still within the body, so I ask you to have some more patience, mister”, the unmistakable voice of Mr Chadana was heard through the door. His worry having even grown since he still couldn’t make out anyone inside the backroom apart from Mortimer and the unknown vampire, Jonathan used his unnatural speed to get to the door as fast as possible and opened it abruptly, stopping in his tracks as the scenery in the next room hit him.

Whilst the front room had been almost empty, the funeral hall in the back was in intense use. Several corpses were laid out, many of them in a most artful way, decorated with flowers and draped skilfully, whilst some seemed just to be in the process of being prepared. Almost all of them were drained completely of their blood. In the middle of the room was a preparation table, on which the unmoving form of Mortimer Goswick was lying. His heartbeat was calm and steady, much too calm for this situation. Next to him stood Mr Chadana, who slowly turned his head towards Jonathan, an unconvincing smile tugging at the man’s lips. His skin was pale for his complexion, and his former brown eyes were now of a pale green with slit-shaped pupils, the sclera around the iris being completely red.

“Dr Reid! Such a pleasure to see a colleague, especially as we are of the same kind now – you had fooled us well, being the proverbial wolf amongst the sheep, sir”, the man greeted him.

“Mr Chadana!? Are these bodies your doing? Have all these patients vanished because of you?” Jonathan enquired, aghast.

“Ah, of course they have, Dr Reid. They were in so much pain and they needed help, sir. And I like to be helpful, so I healed them, sir”, the other ekon answered him, the smile never leaving his lips. He sighed. “But some of them were not redeemable, sir. I could not help them, for the sake of many… And others didn’t want to be gifted with my help, they refused my offer, like Mr Goswick here did. But then bodies always have arrived and departed, sir, leaving only the empty vessel without a soul”, he continued, now circling around the preparation table and inhaling deeply at Mortimer’s neck as he finished speaking.

“ _Healed_ them? You have not healed them, Rakesh, you have killed them!”, Jonathan exclaimed, horrified by the scene in front of him.

“But I have taken away their pain, sir. Is this not what doctors do? I understand that this is an utmost unfair situation for them, but do you not see how peaceful they are now? I arranged them like this, sir, and even arranged them to be buried together in a mass grave”, Mr Chadana replied, caressing Mortimer’s throat. Mortimer, who was still lying completely motionless on the preparation table.

_He must be mesmerised_. “Mr Chadana, I know this situation must be utterly confusing to you and I understand the thirst you are feeling, but you must resist! You can resist! It is a matter of will, and have you not always wished the best for the people surrounding you?”, the doctor tried to talk the other ekon into sense, slowly moving towards him.

“But I am only acting for their best, Dr Reid! I relieve them from the pain and suffering caused by this terrible epidemic, sir!”

Jonathan shook his head in terror. “You can’t be serious! This is madness, Mr Chadana, and if you do not stop this, I will make you!”, he finally replied, now moving more determinately.

“I am afraid I cannot allow you to do this, sir”, Mr Chadana replied, his voice still calm when he drew a pistol within the blink of an eye, shooting at the doctor.

Jonathan hissed painfully when the bullet grazed his side, only a fast shadow-step having him saved from taking the round into the heart. “You have to stop this insanity!”, he exclaimed, now drawing his own revolver.

“Insanity? Clearly it is not, and I will not stop, sir. But I should have seen you would not understand me – all the noble doctor, never showing his true nature to anyone, scolding me for doing what I had to when they assigned me to an impossible task during the war! But I will hear no more of that, sir, you will not stop me from healing these people because of your toffee-nosed attitude! I will relieve the world from you, here and now, and I will relish in the act!” the other ekon sneered, his smile suddenly twisting into a hateful grimace.

Suppressing a curse, Jonathan dodged the next shot by ducking behind one of the tables but not daring to go too far from Mortimer as he feared his opponent could use the young man to heal himself during the fight as his sister Mary had done with vicar Larrabee. Mr Chadana was just in the process of reloading his pistol when Jonathan used the time to place a shot himself, only grazing his opponent’s thigh as he shadow-jumped aside just in time.

_I’ve never been a good shot_ , the doctor thought annoyed, calling on his shadows in the hope the explosion would throw the other ekon further away from Mortimer. It did, but just as Jonathan wanted to use the momentary advantage this gave him, he was hit by a claw from behind. A fast shadow jump over the desk saved him from the second strike and as he turned around, he saw a skal alongside with another ekon coming for him, both having their eyes completely fixed on him. From the other side came Mr Chadana, who had recovered from Jonathan’s shadows by now.

“Do you like my children, sir? They are very well mannered, supporting their father right after their birth”, Jonathan’s former colleague stated, now smiling again and aiming his gun at the doctor.

Jonathan managed to jump away even before the shot sounded, now retreating further back into the room. _I cannot beat two ekons and a skal as long as I hold myself back. It cannot be helped, all I can do is hoping that I am able to hold myself back in time to not hurt the boy_ , Jonathan thought as his second shot did not even barely hit Chadana, who was damnable fast and jumped right in front of the doctor. Before Jonathan could dodge, his opponent vomited a bloody, acidic liquid onto him, its smell burning in Jonathans nose while he could feel it burning on his chest. He gritted his teeth, and backed a little bit away, bracing himself for what he was about to do. _Now or never_. With that, Jonathan released the tight control he normally held over his instincts and freed his inner beast.

Only moments filled with violence, thirst and blood seemed to have passed as Jonathan started to fight for control again, fighting the jubilance the beast inside him was feeling, the utter joy it felt when causing all this destruction, feeling the blood on its claws. A few moments later, he had finally managed to cage his inner beast again, even though he still had to fight back the urge to just let it go again, to have this feeling of power and joy again. His claws were bloodied by his opponents, the newborn ekon and skal lying dead on the ground behind him and only a battered looking Chadana standing anymore.

Chadana didn’t hesitate to shoot again at the doctor as he had finally stopped moving when caging the beast again, but the round only grazed Jonathans cheek. Chadana’s hand was too unsteady due to a severed muscle, and since his other hand seemed to be missing completely, he was unable to reload the gun. Jonathan himself wasn’t unhurt, either – apparently, he had taken some claw blows during the last few moments, but he was far from the sorry state Chadana was in, even though he could feel the hunger gnawing strongly at his self-control. Before his opponent could do anything else, the doctor launched himself at the man and sank his teeth greedily into his throat, drinking until nothing was left. Panting heavily, Jonathan let the empty carcass drop to the ground as he came back from the rush the blood had given him, most of his wounds except for an especially nasty claw mark at his chin having already healed over. He stepped carefully towards the preparation desk Mortimer was laying on, the young man now stirring and trying to sit up.

“Shh, take it slowly, young man”, Jonathan cooed softly, supporting Mortimer’s back as the young man finally managed to get into a seating position.

“Dr Reid? What… where am I?”, Mortimer enquired, obviously confused and his eyes widening in terror as he saw the laid out corpses behind the doctor.

“I am afraid you were the victim of an abduction, Mr Goswick”, Jonathan replied calmly, checking his patient for any signs of injury and taking a discreet sniff to assess the state of his blood. It smelled healthy and clean, even though there was a lingering scent of Mr Chadana clinging on him – Jonathan couldn’t be sure if this was due to the proximity the ekon had towards the boy or if he had ingested any ekon blood.

“Abduction? I… I don’t remember anything… everything is so fuzzy…”, Mortimer answered, gripping his temple.

“You are in shock. It is known to occasionally cause this kind of effect, Mr Goswick. You do not need to worry; it is a natural reaction meant to protect your mind from the terrible events you must have suffered through. You seem to be physically unharmed, however, even though I would prefer to examine you more thoroughly at the hospital”, the doctor soothed him, forcing his lips into a reassuring smile.

“Why are you even here?”, Mortimer enquired, his voice growing now steadier.

“You are not the first patient who has gone missing, even if I am afraid you are, sadly, the only one who survived. Dr Ackroyd, our transient administrator, had already informed the police but since the officers seemed to be too occupied with all the other terrible incidents going on in this city I have investigated myself and the leads led me here”, Jonathan explained with steady voice, in his mind already forming a more believable story of events than one of his colleagues having been turned into a vampire, and a quite violent one at that.

“You… but if you are here, where is my abductor?”, Mortimer enquired, obviously still struggling to comprehend everything.

“Dead”, Jonathan stated curtly. “He attacked me as I came into the room, so I had to kill him in self-defence”, he explained further.

Mortimer’s eyes widened. “But this must have been extremely dangerous – why did you risk your life like this? Especially for me? I’m not worth it…”, he retorted, now obviously falling back into his usual gloomy behaviour.

Avoiding any hasty movements to not startle his conversation partner, Jonathan grabbed him gently by his shoulders, locking his eyes with Mortimer’s. “You _are_ worth it, Mortimer, every human life is worth saving if possible. You should never stop believing that, regardless what terrible actions some humans may perform. Besides, I have faced more terrible dangers during the war. I know to handle myself”

“I don’t know, Dr Reid… Most of the times I think the world would be a much better place without mankind”, Mortimer replied sadly, his head bowed.

“You are wrong with that, young man”. Jonathan replied softly, sighing afterwards. “But then it is not my place to dictate what you should be thinking or not. I assume your mother does that already more than enough”, he continued while shrugging out of his coat. “Here, this will keep you warm until we are back at Pembroke hospital. Please wait a moment here, I want to check if there are any other survivors who need my help”, the doctor stated as he handed the coat over to his patient who took it hesitantly and draped it over his shoulders.

Jonathan went then to the various bodies lying around. He knew that they weren’t alive anymore, of course, as his senses would tell him if it were otherwise, but he wanted to check for something entirely else and used his examinations to take a discreet sniff at each one of them. Two of them had the distinct smell of a vampire, even though it was not as strong as the smell he remembered from McCullum right before his awakening. _I assume this means I have some time left until they awake. Good. I will bring Mortimer to safety, first, and then I will deal with them, they will need guidance._ He grimaced. _And nourishment. I will have to hunt for rats on my way._

“I… I know this man”, Mortimer said as Jonathan returned to him, and pointed towards Mr Chadana’s corpse. “He belonged to the staff at Pembroke! I remember him coming to my room, but then…”, he continued, grimacing suddenly as if in pain.

“Don’t try to force it, Mortimer. You need time to process everything. Let your mind recover”, Jonathan said gently, crouching slightly to bring his face to the same height as Mortimer’s.

“He was my abductor, was he not?”, the young man enquired, lowering the hand that had been gripping his temple until now.

Jonathan nodded slowly. “It would seem so. I am not sure why he has done this, but I assume he had some kind of mental disorder”. He stood up slowly and held his hand out towards Mortimer. “I would suggest we leave this place now – there are no other survivors and you need medical observation I cannot provide here”. The young man nodded slowly, taking the offered hand and standing up shakily, his skinny form almost vanishing in Jonathan’s big coat. The way back to Pembroke was a quiet one, Jonathan carefully using his senses to avoid the few Priwen patrols that were loitering about.

* * *

They needed over an hour to make it back to the hospital, and as they finally arrived Mrs Goswick was overjoyed, dragging Mortimer into a long hug and beaming at Jonathan. The doctor saw the young man’s obvious discomfort, so after Mortimer and his mother had exchanged words for a few minutes, he convinced the woman to leave them alone for a while, supporting his suggestion with a little push to her mind. As the woman was finally gone Jonathan used the time to examine Mortimer more closely, pleased when he found the vampiric smell having weakened. _So, he probably didn’t ingest any ekon blood. I will observe him the next few nights for any changes, nevertheless. This hospital has already seen enough catastrophes happening._ “I will observe your state during the next few days, but apart fom the old wound at your throat you seem to be well off, physically speaking”, Jonathan stated, now wearing his coat again, its lapels hiding the torn shirt.

“Thank you, Dr Reid, for everything”, Mortimer replied.

“There is no need to thank me, Mr Goswick. I only have one favour to ask from you”, Jonathan answered, his expression serious as he continued. “Please, at least try to let my efforts not be in vain – I know the world can be a sad and dreary place, but it can be also a joyful one. And sometimes it’s the small things which are turning it into a better place”. He smiled weakly. “Like saving a young man from an abductor. Or saying a nice word to someone”.

“I am not sure if I can promise you that, Dr Reid”, Mortimer replied weakly.

“I only want you to try, nothing more”, Jonathan answered soothingly, sighing softly afterwards. “I will see you tomorrow night. But if you need any help, don’t hesitate to ask”, he continued, before leaving the room to face the still delighted Mrs Goswick who stopped her thanks only to curse at the state Pembroke was in to let something like this happen. Jonathan finally interrupted her ramblings, explaining her that her son needed time to himself to recover without any disturbances by her, using his Mesmer to convince her as she wanted to object. He knew he should feel bad about taking this risk for her mind, but he really had the feeling that the young man was better off without her right now, and he had not the patience to convince her with other means at the moment.

After exchanging a few more polite words and the plea to doctor Strickland to have an occasional look at Mr Goswick, Jonathan finally headed towards the hospital’s wing where he could sense Dr Ackroyd. He found his colleague being tending to one of the flu patients, so he waited patiently until he was finished. “Dr Reid? Have you found Mr Chadana?”, Dr Ackroyd finally asked, turning around to face the ekon.

“Yes, I have, Dr Ackroyd. I would prefer to discuss this matter in private, however, as it is quite… delicate”.

The other man frowned but nodded, nevertheless. “I have a lot of things to do, but I trust you have your reasons. Lead the way, then”, he replied.

“What have you found?”, Dr Ackroyd enquired as they had arrived at the man’s office.

“Mr Chadana was our abductor, as it seems”, Jonathan started, taking seat in the chair in front of Dr Ackroyd’s desk.

“He was? But why would he do that?”, the other man replied surprised, also sitting down.

Jonathan sighed deeply. “I am not sure. I went to his flat, but it was empty, the door being left open. Since I was worried, I went inside and found a rental contract starting shortly after Mr Chadana’s first sick day. I thought this to be suspicious, so I went to the address which turned out to be a funeral parlour” Jonathan explained, taking out the contract he had found and showing it to his colleague. “It was madness, Waverly. I found Mr Chadana being standing in the funeral hall, right next to Mr Goswick who was lying on a preparation table. But this was not the worst of it – Chadana was surrounded by corpses, some of them being patients I have treated mere days ago. He seemed to be thinking his murders would help his victims, as it stopped ‘the pain and suffering’ caused by the influenza. I have tried to talk him out of this insanity, but in the end, he attacked me”. The ekon bowed his head. “I had to end him in self-defence”, he concluded gravely.

Dr Ackroyd shook his head in horror. “This is utterly disturbing – I have to admit I never held Mr Chadana in high regards, but this…”

Jonathan nodded. “I know. No one would have thought that. At least Mr Goswick is physically unharmed – he doesn’t seem to remember the exact events of his abduction, however. I am not sure if this is caused by the shock or if he was drugged. He seemed to be sedated during the fight since he was just lying calmly on the bench, but then he was rather clear when I talked to him afterwards…”

The administrator frowned thoughtfully. “I trust you have examined him thoroughly?”

Jonathan nodded. “Of course. I have asked Dr Strickland to have an eye on him, however, as I fear this incidence might have worsened his delicate state of mind and I plan on observing him for the next few nights to circumvent any long-term effects, if possible”.

The other doctor inclined his head. “Some weeks ago, I would not have thought I’d ever say this, Dr Reid, but I thank you. You have done this hospital a great service, and, more importantly, its patients. You have the rest of the night at your free leisure, even though I must ask you to write a short report I can hand over to the police if they ever decide to pay our case any attention”.

“I am just happy I have been able to put these terrible events to an end, Dr Ackroyd. But thank you, nevertheless. I will see the report to be done by tomorrow”, Jonathan replied, smiling weakly.

“Have a good night, then”, the administrator answered, dismissing Jonathan with a gesture.

* * *

As soon as Jonathan had left the office, he strode towards his own room as fast as he could, leaving the building over the balcony and heading towards the funeral parlour as soon as he had grabbed an old rat cage from the closed-down morgue – a remnant of one of Edgar’s experiments. As much as he desired to get back to the turning vampires as fast as possible, Jonathan still decided to catch some rats on his way since he wasn’t sure if he would have any time to do so as soon as he arrived. He could see no life signs inside the building when he arrived, much to his relief, so he headed confidently inside.

At the first look, nothing seemed to have changed. Mr Chadana’s lifeless body was still lying on the ground, as well as the bodies of the other two vampires – the skal looking like it had been torn apart, much to Jonathan’s shame. When he turned towards one of the desks were one of the turning men had been lying, he froze in his tracks, however. _It is empty. Am I too late?_ He wheeled around, checking the other desk. It was also empty. The body seemed to have been replaced by a note, however. Slowly, Jonathan picked it up, unfolding the expensive feeling paper and reading the letter written in an elegant handwriting.

> Dearest Doctor Reid,
> 
> As much as I admire the artful handiwork You have performed on this disgusting creature, Your repeated interference into my affairs cannot be tolerated any longer. Therefore, I have taken the liberty to remove my grandchildren from this place and put them under my personal care to see for their appropriate uprising. I am sure we will meet each other soon, however, and I am looking forward to see which choices You will be making.
> 
> With best regards and greetings to Your beloved,
> 
> A kinsman

Jonathan’s blood froze in horror. _Whoever had turned Chadana seems not only to know me, but also Elisabeth and he seems to hold a grudge against me! Somehow, I doubt that Chadana being turned of all persons was a coincidence – what is going on here? And what does he mean with choices? _ With a slight shudder he remembered the dark warnings Usher Talltree had given him mere hours ago. _I need to write a letter to Elisabeth immediately. She needs to be warned and it is also possible she has an idea who is responsible for this. And I should try talking to Julia and the hunter – maybe they have seen something on their nightly ventures I have not._ Having decided, Jonathan searched the building for any further evidences of the mysterious author of the note, also looking into Mr Chadana’s pockets. He found nothing of interest, however. _Whoever has taken the bodies will probably also have removed any evidence regarding his own person_ , Jonathan pondered, before finally leaving the building and heading towards Julia’s and McCullum’s hideout.


	21. Investigations

To his relief, Jonathan found the hunter and Julia at their hideout, the two listening to his explanations of the events transpired in the last few hours with increasing concern.

“And exactly _that_ is the reason why a bloody leech shouldn’t be playing doctor in a hospital”, Geoffrey stated when Jonathan was done.

Julia scoffed. “’s hardly Jonathan’s fault if some other leech decides to play sick games at Pembroke”. The hunter arched an eyebrow, but before he could respond the woman continued, turning towards the doctor. “And you don’t have any idea who could be behind this? Have you made yourself any enemies amongst leeches?”.

Jonathan snorted humourlessly. “Only all friends of the foreign ekons that attacked me during my investigations, possibly all ekons who enjoyed the chaos the Morrigan was causing and don’t like the fact I ended it as well as most remaining members of the Ascalon club. I have made myself even more enemies among the immortal society as you have, I’m afraid”, he replied, brushing through his hair.

“Tsk, you’re not countin’ those leeches I’ve killed back in good old Dublin”, Julia retorted, grinning.

“This is not a competition, Julia”.

“Does Ascalon know about you being with that lady? Or any other leech?”, Geoffrey interrupted them, stopping their bantering.

“As far as I am aware, only Ascalon knows. But it _is_ quite possible another acquaintance of her has seen me at her house and drawn the according conclusions”, the doctor replied.

“I’d still go for Ascalon – those bloody beasts are certainly guileful enough for this kind of shit”, Julia interposed. She grinned maliciously. “Their remaining members deserve a visit anyway, we’d be killing two birds with one stone. Geoffrey and I have already discussed possible hiding places, you could join us in our hunt if you wish”, she continued, her eyes shining with a dangerous fire.

“And what exactly are you planning to do with them?”, Jonathan enquired, narrowing his eyes.

“I thought I’d just ask them some polite questions”. Her grin widened. “They’ve shown me how to do this, after all, so it’s only polite to return the favour. A poetic justice, if you like”.

“No, Julia. What you are planning to do is no justice, it is revenge and I won’t participate in it!”, Jonathan responded, wrought up.

The woman’s face darkened at that. “So, you’d rather let them continue with their sick games!? These leeches have already attacked a hospital just for their amusement! They need to be stopped an’ if you don’t have the spine to do what’s needed, _I_ certainly have, ‘s well as Geoffrey!”

“Julia’s right, Reid. Even you must admit those leeches have overstepped the mark”, McCullum stated calmly.

Jonathan sighed, frustrated. “Lord Redgrave and his close supporters certainly have, yes. But as despicable and unforgivable their actions were, I would like to remind you that _I_ also was a member of the club, even if only for a short period of time. And I’d never have participated in any of that, as I won’t now! They deserve the benefit of the doubt, don’t you think!?”

“They’re bloody leeches, all they deserve is a stake in their heart”, McCullum sneered furiously.

“Do you really think that? Do you really think that Julia and I deserve ‘a stake in our heart’, as you put it? That you do?”, the doctor replied, his eyes burning with wrath.

“I…”, Geoffrey started, taken aback. “I… don’t know. But I _do_ know I won’t let anyone being hurt by monsters if I can help it. It’ll be hard enough to find even one of those bastards, so we _will_ need to get more information of them _somehow_!”, he finally replied.

Jonathan cocked his head. “I might be able to help finding them. But I won’t do so if it ends with you torturing them”. He looked at Julia. “Especially _you_ should know better after everything that has transpired”.

Julia glanced away, her expression dark. “You won’t stop me from getting’ my revenge”, she finally muttered.

“And I am not planning to”, the doctor replied, sighing. “I just ask you to stay within… civilized boundaries”.

“And what would those be in your opinion, _leech_?”, Geoffrey enquired.

“No torture. And if we find them unguilty, you _will_ leave them alone for time being”, Jonathan answered sternly. “Can you live with that or do we part ways until this is resolved?”

“Fair enough”, the hunter replied, while Julia grumbled something unintelligible.

“Fine. But if I find them only remotely involved in the murderin’ of innocents, I’ll rip them apart”, she finally stated as Jonathan looked expectantly at her.

“Very well”, the doctor nodded.

“So, what is this help you were talking off? You know any more members personally?”, Geoffrey enquired.

The doctor shook his head. “No. All members I knew are dead by now. But I do have a list with the names of all immortal members”.

Julia’s eyes widened. “Where did you get that?”, she asked, baffled.

“I might have bended the truth a little bit regarding the content of the book I took with me from the club”, Jonathan retorted, smirking.

“You’re an insufferable bastard”, Geoffrey huffed, even though the doctor could see he seemed to be somewhat amused. “Where do you keep it?”

“My mansion”, Jonathan replied curtly.

“Well, let’s lose no time then, let’s get it”, the woman said, springing up from the armchair she had been sitting in.

“Are you sure you want to accompany me, Julia? It’s near the club’s building…”, the doctor began, only to be interrupted by the huntress.

“So what? You think I’m gonna avoid that region for the rest of my un-life? Fat chance! I’m not one of those fragile lil ladies that need to be protected from everything! And maybe we’re lucky and one of those leeches has decided to return just as we walk by, do you seriously want me to miss this opportunity?”

The doctor only shook his head in exasperation. “Very well. Come along, then”, he finally replied.

* * *

The walk to the West End was a fast one as the streets were empty, the three of them encountering neither Skals, Priwen nor anyone else. They assessed the Ascalon club with careful glances as they walked by, but the building seemed to be quiet. Nobody in the mansion reacted as Jonathan unlocked the front door and invited the other two ekons in, even Avery was asleep – no wonder when one considered the late hour. “I’d ask you to keep your voices down, I don’t want to wake my mother or Avery”, the doctor whispered as the three ekons went upstairs. Julia and the hunter nodded their affirmation and shortly after the three of them were crouched over the big tome containing the names of all immortal members of the club.

“Jeez, are those names written with blood?”, Julia breathed as Jonathan opened the book.

“Yes. Lord Redgrave referred to it as an ‘English tradition’, but I suspect the main reason was to give him a taste of the blood of each and every member”, Jonathan whispered back.

“That’s disgusting”, McCullum huffed, before he suddenly tensed. “Wait, I _know_ that name”, he stated quietly, pointing at a name four places over Jonathan’s (the latter one had been crossed out, and quite furiously as it seemed).

“Daniel Warner? Was he one of your targets?”, Jonathan enquired.

Geoffrey shook his head. “No, even though some of the ones I’m seeing here were. But Thomas had mentioned this name when we talked recently, and he seemed to be quite keen on getting information on him”.

Julia arched a brow. “Thomas? Like the new leader of Priwen? He didn’t mention any of that last time we met him, so when did you talk to him?”

“I might have had a run-in with him while you and Reid visited Talltree”, the hunter replied.

“He didn’t attack you?”, Jonathan enquired, surprised.

“He seemed to be more interested in getting information out of me. Also, he was alone and going alone against an ekon without proper preparation is practically suicide”, Geoffrey explained, shrugging.

The doctor arched a brow. “I didn’t have the impression you felt suicidal when you attacked me at Pembroke”, he stated calmly.

McCullum huffed at that. “I had bloody UV lights as a backup, Reid. That’d be more than enough for any _normal_ neonate. Hell, it’d be even enough for most _seasoned_ leeches. You’re a strong bastard, I have to give you that”. He looked back at the book. “I think we should try to start with that Warner”, he finally stated. The other two ekons nodded.

“I’ll set Avery up to ask around about him, one should never underestimate the gossip of West-Enders”, the doctor agreed.

“We could also ask Charlotte – maybe she knows something, considering her interests and uprising”, Julia suggested.

“Who’s Charlotte?”, the hunter enquired.

“She’s Elisabeth’s adopted daughter”, Jonathan replied, before adding “Good idea, Julia. I didn’t see her tonight and I’d assume she’ll be asleep at this hour of night, but we should certainly try visiting her tomorrow evening. I’ll also write a letter to my dear lady – she needs to be warned of the danger and I also deem it possible she knows more about Mr Chadana’s Sire”. He looked around, sighing. “And then I also still have a report to write, not to mention my research…”, he mumbled to himself.

“Quite something considering its four in the mornin’ – I guess we’d better leave you, then”, Julia stated.

“I’d like to copy those names, first – I don’t feel comfortable to have only one source of them around”, the hunter intercepted.

“…of course. But make two copies, so you _really_ keep one when you hand the other one to Priwen. I’m not daft, McCullum, you should try harder if you want to trick me”, Jonathan replied, his expression dark. Geoffrey nodded with a slight smirk and began to work with Julia’s assistance, while Jonathan started his report for Dr Ackroyd. They split up an hour later, Geoffrey and Julia first checking on the club’s house, but retreating fast and heading back to their hideout as they sensed humans inside when drawing nearer.

* * *

To Jonathan’s surprise, Julia was alone when they met at his mansion at the next evening. “Where’s the hunter? I had assumed he wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to hunt down an Ascalon member”, he enquired as he closed the front door of his house.

“He wouldn’t say, but I’m pretty sure he’s trying to find someone of Priwen to hand over the list”, Julia replied, shrugging. The doctor nodded sadly – he couldn’t help but feeling guilty about handing over the list to the hunter and therefore practically sentencing everyone on it to death. “Come on, even _you_ must see those bloody leeches deserve it”, Julia went on when she saw his dark face.

“Do they? Are you sure?”, Jonathan enquired.

The huntress sneered at that. “Well, the more decent ones will have left the city when Priwen started its hunt, don’t you think? And it’s not like they can’t change their names or anything, so Priwen will probably only hit the ones that stick their head out too much, anyway. So please stop sulking. I won’t shed a tear for any of those monsters goin’ down, that’s for sure. But did your butler find anything on this Daniel Warner?”

Jonathan nodded, his face getting even more grim. “He did, indeed. It seems as if a Mr and Mrs Warner have been the topic of the borough’s gossip for the entire last week – apparently, their maid and later their butler have been killed in a most gruesome way, whilst the Warners themselves simply vanished into thin air. Avery didn’t know their first name, so it _could_ be just a name similarity. He could give me an address, however; I’d suggest we start there after meeting with Charlotte”.

“Sounds like a plan to me – I haven’t seen her campaigning, we’d better try at her house, I guess”, Julia retorted, nodding thoughtfully.

The male ekon arched a brow, worried. “She isn’t? That is the third night in a row, and she has never missed a night before, despite the cold weather during November – I hope she hasn’t fallen sick”, he stated, the two of them heading towards Charlotte’s home.

“Maybe she’s just planning some action with other suffragettes, or she has been seeing friends”, Julia suggested, shuddering slightly with bad memories as they went by the unlit Ascalon club.

“Maybe…”, Jonathan mumbled, not being able to stop himself from having a feeling of cold foreboding. _Julia is probably right; I shouldn’t worry so much. These last few weeks have rendered me quite paranoid. Well, and probably the war. But still, I have the feeling something doesn’t sit right._ The next few minutes passed by quietly as both were lost in deep thoughts, until they finally arrived at Charlotte’s home. There was no reaction on Jonathan’s ringing, however.

“Maybe she’s really out and about with other suffragettes – I can’t sense her inside, at least”, Julia suggested after a moment.

“It is possible, I assume”, Jonathan agreed, his brow furrowed.

“We could try again after we return from Warner’s house, except you have a better idea”, Julia said after a moment. The doctor nodded only, lost in dark thoughts. “Good. I am looking forward to this”, Julia continued, grinning.

“We are not aiming to harm him if he doesn’t give us any reason to”, Jonathan reminded her, frowning.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I’m pretty sure he _will_ give us a reason to harm him and I’m going to relish in it”, the woman replied, unperturbed. The doctor only sighed sorrowfully, and changed the topic to Julia’s maker, which kept them busy until they arrived at an unobtrusive building nearby the park.

“I can’t see anyone inside”, Jonathan mumbled, focusing his senses on the house.

“Well, that’s probably not a surprise, considering the things you’ve told me before. Let’s try to find an open entrance”, Julia replied, already in the progress of jumping onto a nearby house’s roof. It took them a few minutes, but finally Jonathan found an opened window at the back of the house. “Let’s hope there aren’t any humans occupying this building, otherwise this might hurt”, the female ekon said cheerfully before jumping right through the window, unhindered by any barrier.

Jonathan followed hard on her heels, mumbling “How I despise all those brake-ins I’m forced to conduct lately”.

“Ah, come on, ’s not like you’d be stealin’ anything”, Julia replied, looking around in the room. It seemed to be a small study room, dominated by a big desk and a bookshelf lining the wall. All of the furniture seemed to be of high quality and very expensive. “Posh”, she commented whilst having a look at the papers on the desk. Most of them where blank, and the others seemed to be mostly of a financial nature. As Jonathan’s short assessment of the bookshelf also didn’t unearth anything interesting, the two of them went into the small corridor next to the room.

“Do you smell that?”, the female ekon enquired as soon as they had stepped through the door.

Jonathan nodded. “Stale blood – do you think it is from the incident with the servants?”

Julia shrugged. “Let’s find out, shall we?”, she replied, heading down the corridor towards the source of the smell. They soon found it being strongest at a specific door, but the doctor froze dead in his tracks as he opened it. “What is it?”, the huntress enquired, trying to glimpse around the taller ekon. Wordlessly, Jonathan stepped inside, giving her enough space to follow him. The woman’s eyes widened as she saw what had made Jonathan stop, before she shadow-jumped inside the room, carefully avoiding the blood pooling on the floor. Blood that originated from a dead, well-dressed woman with heavy wounds which was carefully placed into an armchair. “She was a leech”, Julia stated, sniffing the air. Jonathan nodded gravely, stepping closer and examining the body. “Do you think she was killed by Priwen?”, Julia enquired after a moment.

The doctor shook his head, still assessing the body intensely. “No. These injuries, like the ripped trachea, the lacerations in her face as well as this open femur fracture seem to have been inflicted antemortem and I highly doubt any human could inflict this kind of damage on an unrestrained, living ekon – not in the way as it was done here. Also, the cuts in her thorax where her heart was removed don’t seem to be caused by an ordinary knife – the incision marks are roughly edged and always several in parallel. It seems more like the doing of claws. Hence, I’d suggest her death was caused by an immortal, even if I’d have to examine the body more thoroughly to be sure”.

Julia just stared at him, before finally answering “I think I’ll just trust you with that, Jonathan, as I only understood half of what you were just saying. You _could_ try to show some consideration of people who don’t have your education, next time”.

“I apologize”, Jonathan replied with a sheepish smile, straightening himself up. “Her body seems to be here for some time, however. Going by smell I’d estimate two days, even though it is always hard to tell with bodies of immortals as they don’t seem to decay in the same speed as a human corpse would do”, he continued.

Julia arched a brow. “I probably should be surprised and somewhat repelled that you know something like that. But somehow, I’m not. Do you think she was murdered by our Daniel Warner?”

The doctor shrugged. “I don’t know – but whoever did this seems to have held quite some wrath, even more than your maker had when attacking Ascalon. It reminds me…” his voice trailed off. Before Julia could enquire further, her thoughts were interrupted, however.

**_Where are you? Who was this woman?_** , the voice of her maker echoed inside her head.

“You!? So, you finally decided to break your silence, _Nimrod_!?”, Julia replied furiously.

… ** _I see you have done some research, Childe_** , the voice answered after a moment of silence, sounding somewhat amused and maybe even a little bit proud.

_That I did. Nimrod IS your name then?_ , Julia replied silently, shooting Jonathan a short look who was nodding understandingly and busied himself with a further examination of the room.

**_It is one of them – you should disregard the thought that any more seasoned blood drinker goes by only one name, Childe_** , Nimrod replied.

_Another name of yours doesn’t happen to be Arthur by any chance?_ , Julia enquired.

**_No. But why would you ask – ah._** , he answered, the confusion Julia felt from him turning into understanding as soon as she thought about the theories Geoffrey and she had. **_No, I am not Mr McCullum’s Sire. You can assure your dear friend that the fallen King is dead for several centuries by now. Considering the Earl’s advance in years it still surprises me how ignorant he was regarding some aspects of immortality. Smell can tell you details about power, age and feeding habits of an immortal, but never directly about lineage. But as I have answered now even more than one of your questions, will you have the courtesy to answer mine? _**

_I might be convinced to do so, but only if you answer this last one truthfully: Did you kill my grandpa or did you not?_ , Julia thought grimly. The voice stayed silent for a moment, but just when Julia thought he wouldn’t answer, it finally sounded again.

**_I did not kill Valentin, even though the fact of our acquaintance had caused his death – I can assure you he was revenged, however, as small as this solace might be. _**Julia wasn’t sure what to think of that, but since he seemed to have answered truthfully indeed, she only sighed and recalled the last few minutes before finding the body. **_I understand your motivation to hunt down Ascalon members, but as far as I have gathered the doctor seems to have more pacifistic views – what is his reasoning?_** , Nimrod enquired when she was done.

_And why should I tell you that? Why does it even bother you?_ , Julia replied, frowning.

She could almost feel him sigh. **_I am not your enemy, Childe. And even if you do not believe me, I think I have proven quite clearly that I am not a friend of Ascalon – their machinations are of great interest to me, as I won’t be able to stop them if I do not know about them._**

The woman nodded slightly at this explanation. _Very well_ , she replied, recalling afterwards everything Jonathan had told her and the hunter about the attack at Pembroke.

The voice stayed silent for a moment after she was done, before stating **_This might be worse than I had anticipated. It would seem I have not made only one, but two grave mistakes during the last few weeks._**

_What do you mean?_ , Julia enquired, but he didn’t answer. Not straight away, at least.

Finally, his voice sounded again. **_Ascalon is not the only enemy, there is a far greater threat working in this city. Tell the doctor to keep his head down if possible, for he seems to have angered a mighty foe. The attack at the hospital was probably only the beginning and he is one of my few brothers I might regret losing. As strong as Dr Reid might be, he will not be able to fight this enemy alone. He will need help from you and the hunter. The blood drinker you are facing has proven to possess a tendency of attacking at several points at once to hide his actual goals._**

“This doesn’t explain anything! _Who_ is this threat you are talkin’ about and _why_ is it attacking Jonathan!?”, Julia exclaimed, wrought up.

**_I cannot answer these questions right now, Childe. The answer to the first one would possibly send you into a fight you are not ready for – this vampire has already escaped my hunt more than once, so we will need a more detailed insight into his plans before facing him. For the second question, I do not have the answer myself, yet. All I can tell you is this: Be on your guard, as you probably will have to face a dangerous foe soon and tell my brother that he might be in the need of producing more of this formidable antidote he made, if possible. In case you happen to find any suspicious machinations caused by immortals, investigate them, but be careful while doing so. I will be in touch as soon as I find something more helpful._** With that, the voice went quiet again, leaving a shaken Julia.

“Any news?”, Jonathan enquired quietly when Julia’s gaze finally focused again.

“One could say so”, Julia started, repeating the conversation she and her maker just had.

“He referred to me as ‘brother’?”, the doctor asked when she was done.

The brown-haired ekon nodded. “Aye. You think you share your maker?”, she replied.

Jonathan tilted his head uncertainly. “It is possible, I suppose – it’d certainly explain his strength. But what he said about the antidote…”, he shook his head, pointing towards the corpse. “The damage inflicted on this body reminds me greatly of what had happened to the poor sewer skals by the hands of Harriet Jones”, he stated worriedly.

“You think there’s someone infected with the blood of hate behind this?”, Julia enquired, her eyes widened.

The doctor nodded gravely. “It would seem so, and I apprehend it might be an ekon – possibly Mr Chadana’s Sire. Which would mean…”

“…that Chadana was also infected, ‘s well as his progeny will be!”, Julia finished his sentence, horrified.

“Yes. This would explain his unsavoury behaviour – by god, the poor man couldn’t help himself!”

Julia looked aside. “We need to find his progeny ‘s fast as possible, before they infect anybody else”, she finally stated darkly.

“We also need to warn Charlotte. It might be possible our foe is not only targeting me but also her – he seems to know about Elisabeth, after all”, the doctor replied.

“Very well. First, we visit Charlotte, then we try to find any traces of those newborns. I can’t believe ekons with the blood of hate wouldn’t leave any trace”, Julia answered.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that – our unknown enemy stated he ‘would see to their proper uprising’, so they’ll have help and with the flu and the gang war raging… But we need to try, nevertheless”, Jonathan stated sceptically. They took the next few minutes to further investigate the house, but they didn’t find anything helpful – apparently, the place had already been swept before, possibly by Priwen. They went back to Charlotte’s house afterwards, but she was still not at home. “I wonder where she is – what if something happened to her?”, Jonathan pondered worriedly.

“Do you have any idea which place we could search for her?”, Julia enquired.

The doctor shook his head. “No, I don’t know much about her free-time activities, I’m afraid. I could try asking around about her, however, I’d wager she is known in the borough due to her campaigning”.

Julia nodded. “Good idea – I can help you if you wish”.

“No, Julia. You should fetch the hunter and try to find Mr Chadana’s progeny. As much as I worry about Charlotte, this must be the priority. You wouldn’t be of much help, anyway – neither could I help you much as my shift is going to start soon. Please also ask McCullum for the King’s blood, I will need it if I want to produce more of the antidote and I know he’s carrying it with him”, Jonathan replied sternly.

The woman sighed. “You’re right. Damnit, and again I have to postpone my hunt on these Ascalon bastards. I’ll meet you tomorrow, then?”

“Yes. I’d suggest we meet at the same time and place as today and share our findings?”, the doctor enquired.

Julia nodded. “See you, then”, she bid her farewell, before shadow-jumping on a nearby roof and vanishing into the night.

* * *

Geoffrey was already waiting for her, seemingly pleased with himself about something, but sharing her worry as soon as she brought him the bad news. “I’ve just killed three ekons who were attacking my men – maybe we’re lucky and the ones we are searching for were among them”, he stated when she was done.

“Could I have a look at them? Jonathan gave me a rough description of the ones we’re lookin’ for”, Julia enquired.

The hunter nodded. “I’ll lead the way”, he stated, already beginning to move. On their way to Southwark, where Geoffrey had taken down the two ekons, they stopped by at Ms Cox’ shop to replenish their stock of crossbow bolts. Whilst Geoffrey busied himself with the woman, Julia headed shortly inside the Turquoise Turtle, coming back with a letter clutched in her hand. “What’s that letter about?”, the hunter enquired when they started moving again, but the other ekon only shook her head.

“Nothin’ important, just some private stuff – I’ll have a look on it later, but now we have other problems”, Julia stated, tucking the envelope inside her coat. The hunter raised his eyebrows, but decided to let her be, for now.

Much to their disappointment, the dead ekons weren’t the ones they had been looking for. They spent the rest of the night with searching Southwark and the docks, but despite one encounter with another ekon which ended unpleasantly for him, they didn’t find any traces of Chadana’s progeny. “They could be in a completely different district, by now”, Julia stated hopelessly when they started heading back to their hideout.

Geoffrey nodded, his expression grim. “Under normal circumstances, I would suggest checking the newest police reports, but first of all I don’t have access to them anymore, and second, with all the hostilities and the bloody flu they probably wouldn’t contain anything helpful, anyway”, he stated darkly.

“We could try tipping off Priwen, nevertheless”, Julia replied thoughtfully. “I mean, you were able to hand them over the list without bein’ killed were you not? And even if they don’t believe us, at least they’d be warned”.

The hunter nodded absentmindedly. “I had a mind to do that anyway, but I’m glad you agree with me”. They spent the rest of their walk back with discussion about Priwen, Julia’s maker (Geoffrey was quite relieved to hear about Arthur being dead, even though he wasn’t entirely sure if he could trust the information) and nemrods in general. On the cemetery, at about the height of Mary’s grave (they had taken out one of the few remaining sewer beasts nearby), the hunter suddenly tensed.

“What is it?”, Julia enquired, drawing on her senses. She couldn’t feel anything nearby, however, even though her smell was somewhat hampered by a weak scent of mint and garlic lingering in the air.

“Nothing… go ahead, I’ll follow soon. I just remembered something I wanted to check out”, Geoffrey replied curtly.

Julia could tell he was holding something back, but since she reckoned he wouldn’t be forthcoming with information, she merely shrugged and strode towards the hideout, glancing back over her shoulder. “The sun’ll be up, soon. If you’re not comin’ within the next 20 minutes I’ll come and fetch you – burning sucks, I can tell you that”, she warned him, trying to hide her concern.

* * *

The hunter didn’t take 20 minutes to catch up with her. In fact, Julia had only had enough time to read her letter and fetch pen and paper to write an answer when Geoffrey came in, his face troubled. “Want to talk about it?”, the female ekon asked as he sat down across her.

“No. So, what’s that letter of yours about?”, Geoffrey enquired, deliberately changing the topic.

“Just somethin’ ‘bout my inheritance”, Julia mumbled, unhappy about his secrecy and glancing down on the paper with grim expression.

Geoffrey arched an eyebrow. “You don’t sound happy about it – bad news?”

“Aye. But nothin’ unexpected, I guess”. She sighed. “It just seems I don’t have any inheritance anymore, my da’s company has been broken up years ago. I’ve seen it coming, really, but ’s still one more bad thing on top of everything. I’m just going to write some letter back to that attorney who wrote me since the original custodian’s apparently dead. ’s nothing you can help me with, so just go to bed or somethin’”. The hunter frowned at that but didn’t poke – he had the feeling she wouldn’t appreciate it, as she only ever talked very reluctantly about this heritage of hers. Bidding Julia a good night, he went upstairs, his fist still clenched around the invitation he had found at Carl Eldrich’s grave as he fell asleep.


	22. Sweet Mother, Sweet Mother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has some French words strewn in during one of the conversations - if you hover over them with your mouse, you'll be able to read the Enlish translation like with the names. Also, if anyone of you speaks French and I managed to fuck up even those few words, please feel free to comment on it - I'll fix it then.

Jonathan cursed silently as he headed hurriedly towards the West End. He had known staying at Pembroke during the day right before his free night wasn’t a good idea, but he had needed the equipment there for his already too much delayed research on the cure. Just as he wanted to leave the hospital after sleeping much too shortly during the afternoon, one of the nurses had knocked at his office door since there was an emergency.

_Of course there was an emergency. There always is. Blasted, I would be much happier if my last experiment had at least been successful. And now I’m running late for my meeting with Julia if I want to visit mother before – her heart sounded even worse last night._ He was treating her, of course, but there was only so much he could do, and he had the feeling the treatment wasn’t working. After what felt like an eternity, the doctor finally arrived at his house, only barely stopping himself of tearing open the door in his hurry. His arrival wasn’t quiet, however, and caught the attention of a distraught Avery.

“Mr Jonathan! Finally, you are here – oh, I am so terribly sorry…”, the butler greeted him.

“What is it, Avery? Has something happened with mother?”, Jonathan enquired worriedly, drawing on his senses and frowning as he couldn’t sense Emelyne anywhere inside the building.

“I am afraid Mrs Reid has wandered off again – I already searched the whole house for her but I couldn’t find her anywhere”, Avery replied, wringing his hands. Jonathan exhaled deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose.

_Not that as well – is it not enough I’ve spent half of the last night with my unsuccessful search for Charlotte? Not to mention a crazed immortal running amok in the city and my not-so-well running experiments?_

“When was the last time you’ve seen her?”, he finally enquired after gathering himself.

“I think it was just an hour ago. I had brought her some tea to her bed since she didn’t feel well, but then somebody rang the doorbell…” Avery’s voice trailed off. “Yes, somebody was at the door, but…” he shook his head, his eyes being glazed over. “And when the guest left, Mrs Reid was gone! I couldn’t find her anywhere in the house, so I waited for your arrival. It is important I tell you she is gone, he said…”, he finally continued, sounding somewhat absentmindedly.

Alarmed, Jonathan grabbed the butler at his shoulders. “Who told you it is important to tell me, Avery? Who was this guest?”, he enquired, only releasing the other man when seeing the irritation on his face.

“Guest? There was no guest… But someone rang the door – I can’t quite remember”, the butler replied, confused.

Exasperated, Jonathan brushed through his hair before replying with the most reassuring voice he could muster at the moment. “It is alright, Avery. It’s not your fault, and I apologize for my inappropriate reaction. I will go looking for her, so see that you get some rest. You seem to need it”. Avery nodded before retreating in his room, his gaze still not entirely clear.

_He acts as if someone had mesmerized him_ , Jonathan thought worriedly as he headed upstairs towards his mother’s room. He found its state unchanged from the last time he saw it save for an empty cup of tea standing at her nightstand and even a closer examination didn’t bring any news. Reckoning he wouldn’t find anything helpful in here, he went into his own room to gather some serums in case his search would lead to a fight when an envelope on his desk made him halt mid-movement. With a feeling of cold foreboding, the doctor picked it up. It was addressed to him and contained a letter written in the handwriting he already knew from the mysterious vampire who had probably sired Mr Chadana.

> Dearest Doctor Reid,
> 
> As much as I was looking forward to meet You, Your mother has told me You are quite a busy man. Therefore, I have settled with her company until You arrive. Word is, however, that one of Your friends has befallen a dire fate and is in need of help since one of the devils he was trying to fight finally came to claim his soul. I am afraid he has not much time left, but I also cannot wait longer than 8 p.m. – then I will have to leave Your sweet mother in whatever state she may or may not be in. It is Your choice to make; will you be a faithful friend but a careless son, or will You see to Your mother’s health personally but deceive Your oldest friend?
> 
> With best regards,
> 
> A kinsman

Below the text where two addresses, one having the title ‘Emelyne’, the other one being titled with ‘Clarence’. Feeling as if something inside of him was frozen, Jonathan took a look at his pocket watch. _Seven past six o’clock. These two addresses are several miles apart, there is no chance I make it to both of them in time, not if I have to also to care for mother or Clarence_ , he thought, horrified. His desperate thoughts where interrupted by a sharp knock at the balcony door, however. Startled, the doctor looked up, feeling a slight pang or relief as he realized it was only Julia.

“Evenin’, Jonathan. You’re late and as I saw you loitering about here, I reckoned – wait, what’s the matter with you? You look like you’ve seen a ghost!”, the woman greeted him as he finally managed to open the door. Not trusting his voice, Jonathan merely handed the letter over to her. Julia’s face went more and more grim as she read it. “We split up. You head towards your mother, I go and save Clarence – he knows me while she doesn’t, so I guess this is the better option. We meet at Pembroke since they might need medical attention. If one of us doesn’t show up ‘til midnight, the other one goes to my hideout and fetches Geoffrey before leavin’ to the other address. I wanted to meet him there since he’s busy with some stuff right now. There’s no need for both of us runnin’ into the same trap”, she finally stated with firm voice after a moment of contemplation.

The doctor just stared at her, wide-eyed, before finally nodding. Seeing the state of shock he was in, Julia grabbed him at his arms and said soothingly “Jonathan! Calm down! I know you’re worried, as am I, but this leech hasn’t been apprehending that there are two of us when planning his sick game! And you’re one of the strongest leeches in England, I doubt that beast really knows what’s comin’ for him. So go, save your mother, as I will take care of Clarence”.

Finally, the doctor nodded again, taking a deep breath and gathering himself. “You’re right. Thank you. We meet at Pembroke then, there is no time to lose”.

The woman only nodded, before heading off towards the balcony and vanishing into the night. Jonathan needed a moment before also leaving, his pockets now filled with different serums to provide healing and blood supply, if needed.

* * *

It took the doctor longer to find the address than he was comfortable with, but finally he was able to make out the right house. Focusing on his senses, he could feel his mother inside, alongside with an immortal. An alarming powerful immortal. Jonathan moved towards the front door of the building, finding it unlocked. As soon as he had stepped inside, the doctor headed towards the room he could sense his mother in – the building seemed to be abandoned, since the floor was dusty and most of the furniture was missing. Bracing himself, Jonathan opened slowly the door, stepping inside the room his mother was held in.

She was seated in a chair, her shivering and the elevated heartrate telling Jonathan that she had to be terrified. Next to her stood a tall, well-dressed ekon with shoulder-long, black hair tied into a ponytail who had one of his hands on her right shoulder. His eyes, which were studying Jonathan curiously, had black sclera and his red pupils were slit-shaped like the ones of a snake. For some reason, the stranger’s features seemed vaguely familiar to the doctor, but he couldn’t place them, he was not even sure if he wasn’t imagining things. “I bid you welcome, Dr Reid! You decided to aid your mother, then? I appreciate the choice as it makes things so much more entertaining for me”, he purred in a silky tone with a barely noticeable French accent, his lips forming an evil grin. Emelyne didn’t say anything, she was only staring wide eyed at her son with obvious fear.

“What have you done to her?”, Jonathan enquired, stepping closer.

“Now, now! No rash movements, Dr Reid! You see, your mother is quite fragile, even more than mortals usually are and I wouldn’t want to see her harmed before we had a chance to talk”, the other ekon stopped him.

“What do you want from me?”, Jonathan replied through gritted teeth.

“Ah, but isn’t that obvious? You are such an interesting neonate, of such a strong blood and keeping himself in the most distinguished company – I simply had to get to know you!”, the ekon replied, his hand gripping Emelyne’s shoulder a little bit tighter, eliciting a small whimper from the woman.

“Fine then. Get to know me, I’m here, talking with you. You don’t need her anymore, so let her go!”, Jonathan exclaimed, only barely keeping his composure.

“I assume I could do that…” The ekon’s grin widened maliciously. “But I won’t. You see, _you_ my dear sir have _stolen_ one of the few things I held precious, so it’s only just if I steal something precious from you, don’t you agree?”, he continued, before suddenly snapping Emelyne’s head up and moving his extracted fangs slowly towards her bared throat.

“No!”, the doctor exclaimed, drawing the gun he had held hidden under his coat and shooting at the other ekon. His opponent merely grinned and shadow-stepped aside just as Jonathan pulled the trigger.

“Nice try, newborn, but I am afraid this will not do”, he stated amusedly, before vanishing into thin air.

_He’s using a shadow veil!_ , Jonathan realised, his senses on high alert and on the lookout for his opponent. Holding his sword and gun ready to fight, he cautiously moved towards his mother who began to shiver even more violently upon his approach. As much as the doctor wanted to soothe her, he couldn’t, since suddenly the other ekon appeared behind him, Jonathan only barely managing to dodge the attack of his claw.

“It is quite unpolite to ignore me like this after all the work I went through to make our meeting possible”, he stated, the obnoxious smirk still gracing his face. Jonathan decided to ignore the taunting and simply attacked him with Dragonbane. “You’re too slow, garçonnet! Maybe you need a small motivation to move faster”, his opponent taunted, skipping aside, whilst thrusting his arms forwards and producing three blood spears aimed at Jonathan.

The doctor dodged but was hit badly in the back, nevertheless, as the blood spears exploded as soon as they hit something, the liquid they had been made of burning acidly on Jonathan’s back. Hissing in pain, Jonathan shadow-jumped back, calling the shadows to his aid. They fizzled out on the blood shield the other ekon created, however.

“Now we get closer to the interesting things. Come on, try harder, I want to see what you are capable of”, his opponent stated cheerily, drawing closer without haste, his fangs and claws extracted.

_Mother is too close for letting the beast free – the risk of hurting her in this state is too high to take. I must lure him out of this room_ , Jonathan thought, retreating carefully further backwards whilst firing another shot at the ekon in front of him. The shot was also nihilated by the ekon’s blood shield, but at least it led the shield to shatter, the doctor feeling the explosion in his face despite standing in some distance.

“You don’t want to leave already, do you!?”, the ekon exclaimed as Jonathan moved further towards the door. Just before the doctor went through it, his opponent went with two quick shadow-jumps behind him, his claws digging deep into the doctor’s side. It gave Jonathan the opportunity to claw his opponent on his part, however. “So, the chaton finally shows its claws? About time”, the other ekon teased, pushing Jonathan hard into his chest, sending him flying across the room.

_I’ve never faced an immortal of such impossible strength_ , Jonathan thought panickily, whilst trying to get up again. His struggles were stopped by his opponent, however, who clenched his hand to a fist, freezing the blood in Jonathan’s veins.

“Pathetic”, he sneered, stepping closer to Jonathan and grabbing his chin. “You’re from blood even stronger than mine and yet you famished yourself into such a pitiful state. I really can’t see what Elisabeth finds with a gringalet like you. But then my fallen star is even more pitiful these days than you are – I wonder if she’d still want you if you were ‘tainted’ like me? Or if you were a kinslayer? Or both? Let’s find out, shall we?”, he continued, before snapping Jonathan’s head up and sinking his fangs into Jonathan’s throat.

The pain was excruciating – the doctor had been bitten before during his nightly ventures, but nothing compared to this, not even the bites he had gotten from Doris Fletcher during their fight. The pain from the wound itself was almost negligible compared to the powerful burning that went in waves through his body, originating from the bite. Jonathan groaned quietly as his opponent finally let him go, feeling lightheaded and famished from the sudden blood-loss. He could hear the other ekon moving, could hear him talking, but he was too occupied with the pain and hunger floating through his body to pay attention to him. Fumbling around blindly, Jonathan tried to take out one of the serums he had with him in an especially designed box as the scent of fresh, flowing blood suddenly caught his attention, leading his bowed head to snap up. He could see the source only a short distance in front of him, could hear the frantic heartbeats calling him like a siren’s song alongside with the smell. His fangs fully extended, Jonathan got up slowly, nearing the blood source as a sudden thought stopped him. _No… I cannot do that, I must withstand! I am a doctor, sworn to save lives, not taking them!_ Frantically, he started to fumble again for the serums, finally finding one and injecting it, following the first injection with an additional one shortly after.

Finally, his head cleared, even though he could still feel the hunger raging inside of him – the serums never really helped with that. “Mother…”, he breathed as he realized who the blood source was that had called to him so badly. _I wanted to kill her, like my poor Mary!_, he realised, horrified and disgusted with himself. “This despicable bastard”, he hissed angrily, glancing around. He couldn’t sense the other ekon anywhere nearby, but the awareness at the rim of his mind told him he wasn’t gone entirely. _Whatever – as long as he doesn’t show up again there are more important things to deal with, first!_ , Jonathan thought, moving carefully towards his mother, who was bleeding heavily from a wound at her neck.

“Don’t you dare coming closer to us, monster!”, Emelyne cried out, raising her hands defensively. Taken aback, Jonathan stopped.

“Mother… I know seeing this must have been terrifying, but I assure you, I mean you no harm. I am still your son, and all I want is to help you!”, he tried to reassure her.

“My son!? You are not my son, unholy creature! My son is standing right there, crying at your wickedness, little boy that he is, and I will not let any harm befall upon him or my sweet little Mary!”, Emelyne exclaimed, her heartbeat getting even more elevated and unsteady.

_This is not good_. The doctor wasn’t sure if this was the result of the disorientation she had shown ever since Mary had led her to the thrice-damned cemetery or if the other ekon had done something to her mind, but he knew he had to snap her out of it fast. Before she bled to death.

“ **Mother, please, listen to me!** ”, Jonathan said, carefully putting only a slight bit of power behind his command in the fear of damaging her mind even further. The effect was immediate, nevertheless, as Emelyne gave up her defensive demeanour and focused even more on him. The rate of her heartbeat was still alarming, however. “I do not wish to harm Mary, I never did. Neither would I do anything to harm your little boy. But you are bleeding, mother, and you will die if no one tends to this wound. So please, let me bandage it. Your children still need you”, he went on with breaking voice, a single red tear running over his cheek.

Emelyne stared at him for a moment, before she finally gave in, her gaze still vigilant. “Very well. But don’t you dare coming close to one of my children”.

Jonathan only nodded silently, while he hurriedly took out one of the bandages he always had with him and started to dress her wound after shortly disinfecting it. He could hear quite clearly how her heartrate elevated while he worked and tried to be as gentle and fast as possible, biting back his thirst as well as he could, his experience with countless patients proving incredibly helpful.

“You remind me of my son – he is a doctor, did you know that? Right now, he’s researching some new blood transfusion technique. I’m so proud of him”, Emelyne muttered absentmindedly while Jonathan cared to her wound.

“I’m sure you are”, the doctor replied hoarsely, a second tear finding its way down his cheek. “We need to go now. It isn’t safe and you need more medical care as I can provide here”, he finally stated gently as soon as he was done, trying and failing to gather himself.

“No! I can’t leave my children alone!”, Emelyne exclaimed, terrified, trying to retreat from him.

“And you don’t have to – they can come with you; I will bring you to Avery. He will care for them, as he will for you”, Jonathan soothed her.

Emelyne nodded slowly. “That is good of you – Aubrey will also be worried for us, after all”.

The ekon smiled sadly. “I am sure he is. Father always loved you dearly”, he replied softly, holding his hand towards her to help her up. His mother gave him a funny look.

“You finally forgave him?”, she enquired, her gaze clear for the first time since Jonathan had entered the room. The doctor nodded, placing his words carefully in fear to lose her clarity again.

“I did. I know his reasoning now, he explained everything in the letters he left me”. He grimaced in pain. “I would have wished he’d said all of these things to me personally, but I finally understand him. But please, we have to leave now, mother. It is not safe here”.

His mother nodded slowly, gripping his hand and standing up. “Yes, Jonathan…”.

Suddenly, her gaze turned to a point next to her. “But if you are here, holding my hand…”, she muttered, her face utterly confused. “How is this possible? I can see you standing over there, but here you are, holding my hand”, she continued, turning her gaze back to him.

The young ekon only stared at her, at a loss of words and feeling completely desperate. “Mother…”, he finally mumbled, squeezing her hand softly. She didn’t move, only her head span back and forth, focusing alternately on the empty spot and back to Jonathan.

“You’re not dead”, she finally breathed, disbelieving.

“No, mother. I am not”, the doctor replied softly, another tear running down his cheek.

“You’re not dead! Oh, _Johnny!_”, Emelyne exclaimed, falling around Jonathan’s neck. He patted her back, disbelieving, his tears running now more freely. After a moment, Emelyne backed away. “But… you are so pale, Johnny, just like our dear Mary – and the way you moved before… I don’t understand”.

Carefully, Jonathan placed his hands on her shoulders. “Something happened to me, mother, something I can’t quite explain, not right now. I am not dead. But I am neither as… alive as I used to be”, he explained softly, his gaze searching hers. “But you are. And I want to stay you so. So please, follow me, let us leave this terrible place, let me bring you home”, he went on, feeling desperate as he heard her heartrate spiking up again, the beats being alarmingly unsteady. It hadn’t quite settled down for all the time he was here, and he was beginning to anticipate it wasn’t only due to his mother’s mental state.

“Yes, Jonathan, we should leave”, she finally replied, following him through the room, before suddenly stumbling, her heart stuttering, the rate being frantic and erratic.

“Mother? What is it? Are you hurt?”, Jonathan enquired panickily, steadying her in his arms.

“I… It hurts, Jonathan, it hurts even more than before”, she stated hoarsely, her face twisted in pain. Jonathan could hear her heart like drums in his ears and he could hear the sound wasn’t right. Not right at all.

“Mother…”, he began, but she interrupted him with firm voice.

“Jonathan, you are a great doctor. But there is nothing you can do anymore – I’ve anticipated this already for a long time”, she stated, gripping her son’s hand with iron grip. “Don’t you worry about me. Aubrey is waiting for me, as is Mary with her son. And we will be waiting for you, when your time comes. I am just so happy you are still on this earth, Johnny, regardless what has happened with you. A mother shouldn’t die before her children…”, she said, her voice growing weaker and weaker, before with a last beat, her heart stopped.

“No… mother!”, Jonathan exclaimed, lying her on the ground and ripping her clothes apart to start a cardiac massage.

* * *

He didn’t know how long he tried to press life back into her. It could have been seconds, minutes or hours for all he cared. The only thing he knew that his endeavours were in vain. There she lay, heart unbeating, eyes broken and unfocused. But her expression was peaceful. Finally, he gave up, cradling her lifeless body against his chest. His tears had dried up long ago, so he just sat there, unmoving, his heart heavy with pain. _I’ve lost her… The last member of my family, gone…_ , Jonathan thought desperately. After some more minutes, he finally closed her eyes and got up, holding his mother’s corpse gently in his arms. _Avery… He needs to know. He will look after everything needed_. Feeling as if his body was moving on its own, Jonathan went out of the house, heading back home over the roofs to avoid meeting anyone. He couldn’t say afterwards how exactly he had gotten inside the house, the only thing he knew was that suddenly Avery was there, all over him, trying to take her from his arms, while his still alien feeling body refused to release her.

“Mr Jonathan! What has happened? Is this blood on your face, on your coat? And Mrs Reid… is she…?”, his butler enquired, the worry evident in his face.

“Dead. She is dead, Avery. And I couldn’t do anything to save her”, Jonathan stated gravely.

“What has happened? Please, Mr Jonathan, lay her down, sit. Do you need something to drink? I could fetch…”

“No, Avery. I certainly don’t need anything to _drink_ right now”, the doctor interrupted him, finally letting go of the corpse and placing it carefully onto her bed – it seemed as if he somehow had managed to get her into her room. Distraught, Jonathan brushed through his hair, while Avery shoved him into one of the chairs.

“She… was attacked, Avery. I saw him, I saw the attacker, but he fled before I could do anything. He left her bleeding…” His voice broke. “She was so horrified – I tried to bandage her wound, but her heart, it just stopped beating…” Jonathan shook his head, burying his face into his hands to hide the bloody tears he was crying. Finally, he gathered himself enough to continue. “I tried to revive her, but to no avail”, he finished, a deep silence falling between the two men afterwards.

“It is not your fault, Mr Jonathan. You did everything one possibly could do”, Avery finally replied, his voice pained – Jonathan could tell he was holding back his tears as well. “Can you describe the attacker? Have you seen his face?”, the butler enquired after a moment.

“He was tall, with black, shoulder-long hair. Had a French accent even though his English was almost perfect”, Jonathan stated in a matter-of-factly voice. Not that describing him had any use as the police wouldn’t be able to find the ekon anyway. Which was for the better, as he would certainly kill them if they did.

Avery nodded. “I will inform the police. And the… undertaker”. He straightened himself up from the crouched position he had held while talking with Jonathan. “Do you need anything? Have you been hurt?”

“No, I… no Avery. I don’t need anything, thank you. I just –“, Jonathan replied, stopping mid-sentence as he remembered what had happened before his mother died. “Clarence!”, he breathed, getting up faster than any human would be able to.

“I am sure Mr Crossley can wait a day”, Avery stated disapprovingly.

Jonathan shook his head. “You don’t understand, he is in danger. I need to go and find him”, the doctor objected, already moving to leave the room.

“If you really _have_ to leave after everything transpired, at least change your attire, Mr Jonathan – you are completely dishevelled!”, the butler interjected, his depreciation of Jonathan’s plan being obvious. Only then Jonathan noticed his battered appearance. His jacket and shirt were torn and smeared with blood and while his coat was in a slightly better state, it was still stained with god-knows which substances.

“You’re right”, he muttered. He couldn’t possibly appear at Pembroke like this. Glancing a last time at the unmoving body of his mother, Jonathan went into his room, changing quickly and heading off towards Pembroke hospital as fast as he could afterwards. Fleeing, fleeing from the pain behind him towards the pain awaiting…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now probably all of you are hating me for what I've done to the poor Emelyne :P 
> 
> I'm sorry.


	23. Nasty Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, let's see if Clarence is going to share Emelyne's dire fate, shall we?

It took Julia some time to get to the address she had copied on a small piece of paper, but regarding to her pocket watch she still had one hour left when she finally managed to find the place. She could sense two persons inside the small town house, one of them Clarence and the other one a vampire.

_I’d better circle it, first, get the best overview of my surroundings possible._ Carefully avoiding getting too close to the house in order to not alarm the vampire inside of her presence, Julia rounded the building, searching for possible escape routes as well as the best entrance point. _That window over there – it looks like it leads directly into the room where Clarence and that monster are in, even though I can’t see them directly through it. Nevertheless, I guess it’s the best point to get in_. She checked her gun and her crossbow for a last time – both were loaded – took a deep breath and finally shadow-jumped through the window into the house, holding her arms in front of her face to avoid cutting herself. Even if she was able to heal wounds like that within seconds, having a piece of glass sticking in one’s face still hurt.

“I knew you would come! You just couldn’t resist saving this Priwen-sympathiser, could you?”, the voice of a woman greeted Julia as she landed in the room. Getting up from the crouch she had landed in and readying her crossbow, the huntress looked around, freezing as she realised the situation.

In the corner next to the window stood a female ekon with tan skin and green, bloodshot eyes, Julia’s senses revealing that she must have fed recently. She held Clarence in her arms, keeping him at bay with a knife at his throat. His fear was obvious, since his eyes were wide with terror, and he was shivering whilst struggling to keep his balance as it seemed he wasn’t able to use his right leg properly. Also, he was smelling faintly of blood, as if having been wounded. “Charlotte?”, Julia finally breathed after a moment of shock, but gathering herself quickly. “So, you finally managed to get yourself turned? And the very first thing you do is kidnappin’ Mr Crossley? Even if you’re _this_ disregarding of human lives, don’t you have _any_ respect for Jonathan?”, Julia enquired furiously.

The other woman sneered at that. “Dr Reid? I don’t care for Dr Reid! But if I can hurt my fraudulent mother by hurting _him_ , then I’ll certainly won’t miss the opportunity! And if I can show _you_ the place you belong to, it’s a nice bonus – I didn’t mention to my Sire that Jonathan would probably rely on _you_ to save his oh so precious _friend_ as I wanted to show you your place, disregarding of the _gift_ you have been granted as you are!”. Her mouth twisted into a nasty grin. “I’ll show you how wrong you were by neglecting all the _opportunities_ you have now, and I’ll teach _mother_ what happens if you _don’t share_!”, she exclaimed, her voice cracking at the end.

_This is not the Charlotte I know. Not even as a blood-crazed newborn. She must be infected with the blood of hate; there is no other explanation_ , Julia thought. Knowing that a discussion with her would be utterly useless, the huntress simply aimed her crossbow at Charlotte’s head and fired it as the other woman was just finishing her sentence. Charlotte dodged the shot, taking Clarence with her. Julia had anticipated that, however, as her intention of shooting had been obvious. _But now those walls aren’t protecting her back anymore…_ Reloading her crossbow, Julia drew in on her shadow veil, vanishing in front of the other ekon’s eyes. While she moved silently around her opponent, whose gaze was searching the room carefully, she spent a short time wondering why Charlotte wasn’t trying to slit Clarence’s throat. She had been apprehending that move since she shot at her, had been preparing to grab Charlotte with her shadows to stop her if needed.

But she hadn’t much time to ponder about that, as she soon found herself being in the correct position behind her opponent. After clasping her crossbow silently onto her belt to get her hands free, Julia launched herself on the woman, grabbing the arm with the dagger and removing it from Clarence’s throat before grabbing Charlotte and pushing her away. She landed on the floor only a short distance away, but it gave Julia enough time to grab Clarence and shadow-jump back with him. She felt him struggling, but she didn’t have time to reassure him, so she simply moved between him and Charlotte, who was already drawing nearer. She tried to stop her by freezing her blood, but Charlotte merely grinned, Julia’s hand shaking with pain as the attempt backfired.

“He had prepared me for that. You are no match for me”, the tan woman taunted, producing a gun in her right hand and firing it at Julia. She wasn’t a very good shot, however, and Julia dodged easily. Much to Julia’s relief, the shot didn’t hit Clarence, either. Charlotte seemed to have anticipated her movement, jumping towards the huntress just after her shot and clawing her badly, sending her flying against the wall. “Do you see how _strong_ I am? How _fast?_ And I’ll get even stronger and faster during the endless life I was granted! And _mother_ wanted to keep all of this to herself, egoistic liar that she is!”, the woman chided.

“You’re nothin’ but a monster, a mindless beast relishing in the pain of others”, Julia replied through gritted teeth, getting up and willing her body to heal itself.

“And you aren’t? Stop your pretences, I’ve been tired of it even before my turning!”, Charlotte exclaimed, closing the distance between them and clawing at Julia again. This time, Julia had been prepared, however, and dodged easily, the regular training in hand-to-hand combat with Geoffrey finally paying off. _At least when it comes to dodging and anticipating movements, I still suck with that dagger._ She didn’t waste any time with an answer, but simply shot Charlotte again, this time hitting, even if only her shoulder. The woman hissed in pain and followed Julia, firing her gun but only grazing Julia’s left arm. The next few minutes passed by with furious fighting, Charlotte taking additional bolts into her thigh and her left upper arm, while Julia managed to dodge most of the blows Charlotte was aiming at her. She had to move further and further away from Clarence to dodge all of the attacks, however.

“Fine then. I had wanted to do this more ceremoniously, but if this is not possible, so be it!”, the tan ekon snarled as Julia avoided another claw attack. Her face twisted with a mixture of wrath and pain, she jumped back to Clarence who had crawled towards the door. “Let’s see how much you like this pathetic mortal if he’s turned into a _monster_ , how you call it! Let’s see how much _Dr Reid_ will still like _you_ , when you have let it happen!”, Charlotte exclaimed, biting her own wrist and moving it towards Clarence’s mouth afterwards, disabling him from moving by grabbing the back of his head at his hair.

“Oh no, you bloody won’t!”, Julia growled, calling her shadows and chaining the woman before she could get any of the blood even close to the man’s mouth. Deepening her growl, Julia tried to focus on the hate and wrath she felt, tried to recall the feelings she had felt when cutting that vulkod into pieces. She could feel the shadows getting sharp, could smell and see the blood welling up from the wounds it inflicted. But she also saw the pained face of her opponent.

Charlotte’s pained face. Charlotte, who might be a monster now, who might be needed to put down, but who didn’t deserve to suffer like this – getting infected with the blood of hate certainly hadn’t been her intention, after all. Disbelieving, Julia felt how the shadows got dull again as soon as her blind hate subsided.

_Dammit. So much for focus. Time for the tried and trusted._ Her opponent was struggling strongly against her shadow chains, but they were still holding her in place yet, allowing Julia to aim and release a bolt straight towards her opponent’s heart. In the last moment, Charlotte managed to break free, however, the bolt piercing her lung but missing the heart. Bleeding from several wounds and almost unable to breath, Charlotte realised that she wouldn’t win this fight. Not now, not in this state. Without losing any time, she jumped out of the window and fled over the street. Julia tried to stop her, but wasn’t fast enough, her target having fled out of the reach of her senses within seconds. “Bollox!”, she cursed, taking a moment to make sure Charlotte wouldn’t come back before finally clasping her crossbow at her belt and turning around to Clarence.

He was still sitting in front of the door, staring wide-eyed at Julia and whimpering slightly. The smell of blood coming from him had gotten stronger, probably whatever wound he had had reopened during his struggles. _That, and my senses are sharper as that fight has famished me._ Carefully, Julia stepped closer towards him.

“Leave me alone, hellspawn!”, he exclaimed timidly. Julia sighed, but stopped, crouching down to get her face to the same level as his.

“I guess this had to be anticipated. Hell, I’d act the same way ‘s you do if I was in your place. But I assure you, I don’t have the intention to harm you. I only wanna bring you to a hospital, so someone can tend to these wounds you have”, she stated reassuringly.

“I don’t believe anything you are saying, devil! I won’t let you feed on my soul, so go away!”

Julia sighed again. “I don’t have any interest in your soul, Mr Crossley”, she stated calmly.

The man didn’t seem to listen as he frantically exclaimed “You followed me, didn’t you? You’re with that devil I saw in France, you and the other one have been observing every move I made, haven’t you!? I should’ve known that woman campaigning right there every night can’t be a coincidence!”

Julia shook her head in exasperation. “This is ridiculous. Please, **try to calm down**. Charlotte hasn’t even been a leech longer than one week and she also campaigned during the day – you must’ve seen her. And I _know_ you know ‘bout the inability of leeches to face the sun, so how on earth should she’ve been a leech that was observin’ you? As for me, you’ll just have to believe me I’ve never been to France in my life. Or un-life, that is. Not all leeches out there are in cahoots together, you know”, she replied.

Clarence stared at her, wide-eyed. “I still won’t let you anywhere near me”, he finally stated, his voice now finally at least somewhat calmer.

“And how, exactly, do you want to stop me? You don’t seem to have a weapon or even a cross with you, do you now? And you’ve seen me fightin’, so you should be able to imagine that I’m stronger and faster than you are”. Julia nodded at his leg. “Especially with that bad leg you’ve got there”, she added.

“I… you… I’ll get out of here, I won’t bother you again, I promise! I’ll even leave the country!”, the man finally stuttered, shivering violently. The ekon bowed her head in frustration, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Seriously? _Seriously?_ Come on, why would I want that?”. She exhaled deeply. “Mr Crossley, Clarence, look – if I wanted to harm you, wouldn’t I have done so, already? It’s not like I hadn’t had plenty of opportunity! Also, if I’d be only after your blood, do you really think I’d have fought Charlotte – I mean, you do smell nice an’ all, but there’re plenty of other… targets out there which would’ve been much easier to get to”, she continued, not bringing herself to refer to humans as ‘prey’. Clarence didn’t answer and just continued to stare at her.

“Please, I just wanna bring you to a hospital – you won’t have to see me ever again after that”. She considered for a moment. “Well, honestly, you _might_ see me again, I’m living in the same city right now. But I can try to stay clear from you”.

She went silent for a while, giving him time to think. “If… if you could just come here and… why… why don’t you just grab me and bring me wherever you want, then?”, Clarence finally enquired.

Julia arched an eyebrow. “Well, I definitely _could_ , if I had to. But first of all, I do respect you and I don’t want to frighten you more than absolutely necessary. Second, carryin’ you all the way through the city while you struggle and scream doesn’t exactly sound like fun to me. Plus, I don’t want you to hurt yourself while struggling to get rid of me. I guess I could… _convince_ you to come along quietly – you’re certainly aware of the charmin’ nature we leeches have – but I’d rather not. It could damage your mind and I don’t want that”, she explained. Clarence swallowed at that. “Come on now – as I said, if I wanted to hurt you, I’d already have done so and you’re obviously not in the state to get anywhere on yourself in reasonable time. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I’ll leave you and you can stop bein’ afraid”, she went on as he didn’t answer. Again, silence fell between them while Clarence considered.

“Fine. Do as you wish, I can’t stop you anyway”, he finally said in a whiny tone.

“Thank you”, Julia replied gently, moving slowly towards him and carefully examining him. The smell of fresh blood seemed to originate from a wound at the back of his head, but luckily it seemed to be only superficial. “How bad’s your leg?”, Julia enquired.

“I’m not sure – I heard it cracking and it hurts terribly. It might be broken”, Clarence stated shakily. The woman nodded thoughtfully.

“Then I guess we’d better immobilise it, otherwise it’ll probably hurt like hell ‘s soon as I’m moving you. You wouldn’t happen to know if there’s any medical stuff somewhere in this house?” The man only shook his head. “Thought so. I’ll take a short look for it, then. Please don’t do anythin’ stupid like throwing yourself out of the window while I’m gone, yeah?”, she replied, gripping the doorknob behind the man. The door was locked.

“She locked it with a key she had found at the corpse of the man she murdered downstairs”, Clarence stated quietly.

“She murdered a man here? But if this house was occupied, how did she even get inside?”, the woman enquired, turning her attention back to him.

The man shrugged uncomfortably. “He… he just opened and let her in, he didn’t even seem to realise that he had to step over the dead body of some poor woman in the process”, he whimpered.

“She’s mesmerized him”, Julia muttered sadly. “So that locked door’s the reason you didn’t leave the room while we were fightin’, eh? I had wondered. But it also means that I won’t be able to search the house as easily as I thought – huh, maybe I don’t have to…”, she continued, her gaze falling on the curtains and a broken chair beneath them. Within the blink of an eye, she went over to them, drawing her dagger and cutting stripes from the curtains before breaking off two of the chair’s foots. “I’m no nurse or somethin’, so that’ll probably hurt more than necessary, but I think it’ll be for the better nevertheless”, she stated when returning to Clarence.

“You don’t… have to do that – just… just leave me be”, he said timidly.

“You know, before I was turned into a leech, I worked at a factory in Dublin. Some months ago, one of my co-workers tripped on a stair and broke one of his legs. He’s quite a tough guy, but he still cried like a baby when they moved him down the hall to fix him up. So, actually, I _do have_ to do this, Mr Crossley, otherwise you’ll be out of it before we’re even halfway there. And I’m sure you’ve seen similar things durin’ the war, so don’t argue with me”, Julia stated firmly while beginning to prepare her makeshift bandage.

Clarence didn’t answer her, but only whimpered as soon as she started to work at his leg – apparently, he had broken his shin. It took a while as Julia had practically no experience with things like that, but finally she managed to create something that seemed to be stable enough. “Your wound has stopped bleeding, so I guess I’ll just leave it be. Have someone care for it who knows what he’s doin’”, she stated, before carefully gripping Clarence beneath his arms and his knees and getting up. She could hear him drawing in a sharp breath, as well as his heartrate spiking up, but he placed one of his arms around her neck to steady himself, nevertheless. _At least he’s reasonable enough to see there’s no point in struggling right now_ , she pondered, before taking a careful step towards the window. “How’s your leg? Is it bearable? Or should I try to fix it better?”, she enquired.

“It’s okay, no need to… It’s okay”, the man replied, his voice still frightened.

“Good to hear. I… guess you remember the feelin’ when I moved you during the fight but just as a warning as I’m not exactly sure how that kind of thing feels to a human, I’m going to do that again”, she stated, before jumping out of the window onto the empty street, heading towards the next roof over a balcony afterwards.

“Are you alright?”, she enquired, stopping on the roof, as the man in her arms seemed to be even paler and sicker than before.

“…Yes”, he stated after a moment with high voice.

“You know, if it’s too uncomfortable, just tell me. I can move more slowly if needed and I certainly don’t want you to throw up or somethin’”.

“I… I… I’m fine, really”, he stuttered.

Julia sighed, but moved on nevertheless, trying to be as gentle in her movements as possible even though this proved to be quite a deed as she had to jump repeatedly over streets and alleys. “At least you’re not as big as the hunter”, she muttered under her breath. Clarence didn’t react, she wasn’t sure if it was because he didn’t hear her or if he was too afraid. After a while, the movements opened his wound again, however, making each step more and more to a torture for Julia as she could smell the blood that was slowly seeping out, the call of it becoming worse and worse to bear.

“What… why are you…?”, Clarence suddenly broke the silence. Only now Julia realised that she was growling due to her hunger, her fangs fully extracted. Glancing down into the man’s face, she saw he was horrified.

“I’m sorry”, she said hoarsely, trying to gather herself. “’s just… you’re bleedin’, and the smell…”. She stopped herself, groaning as speaking about it made it even worse. “The fight has famished me, and your wound doesn’t make things easier, that’s all”, she finally stated, carefully avoiding to look down towards the bloodstream. She could feel him shiver at her words. _This is bad. I’m almost back at the point where the heartbeats drown out everything else. I can’t continue like this, it’s too dangerous._ “I… I guess there’s no way around it, I’ll have to look for some rats to take at least some of the edge off – I’m sorry”, Julia continued, before a movement in the corner of her eyes made her halt. “Or maybe, I won’t – it seems we’re lucky”, she stated, a grin spreading over her face despite the call she felt from Clarence’s blood. “I’m not talking ‘bout humans, stop worrying”, she went on as she felt Clarence tremble at her words.

With a quick jump, she went onto the next roof and peered down onto the street beneath her. _Ghouls. Two of them. But why are they not in a larger – ah, Priwen guards. As unhappy as I am about their deaths, their fight gave me an excellent opportunity to sate this damnable thirst_ , she thought as she assessed the situation. “If I put you down, you promise me you stay here and won’t do anythin’ stupid like jumping off the roof? I’ll be back in a sec”, she breathed into Clarence’s ear. The man only nodded silently, his gaze fixed on the creatures beneath them. “Good. Oh, and it’d probably better if you don’t look, this will be kinda terrifying”, she whispered as she put him down – luckily the roof had a flat part on its top so he could sit comfortably.

Now concentrating on the two beasts, Julia drew and loaded her crossbow, aiming it at the head of the first creature afterwards. With a low sound, the bolt was released, striking home and killing it instantly. Without wasting time, Julia drew in on her shadow veil, moving towards the roof’s edge and launching herself at the other skal, her dagger drawn. The beast hadn’t even realised what was happening as she already hit it, digging her fangs into its throat and beginning to drain it, stabbing its heart before she could obtain any memories. After licking the dagger clean, the ekon sheathed it again and went back onto the roof to Clarence who apparently hadn’t followed her advice and was watching her with obvious terror.

“You killed them! You just killed two…”

“…skals. Aye, that I did”, Julia interrupted him. “Come on, you must’ve seen these two were just in the progress of _eating_ those corpses. Corpses they had caused, I want to mention, so I have quite some hard time of regretting it. Especially as it’ll make it much easier not to kill _you_!”, she carried on.

“You… you are a monster, a walking devil! I’ll just be your next victim, won’t I!?”, the man cried out, scrambling away from her.

“Oh please, what do you want to do? You’re on a roof ten metres above the ground, for god’s sake! Yes, I _am_ a monster, I’d never deny that, but I _am_ also capable of controlling my thirst, under normal circumstances at least. I won’t hurt you. And you don’t have much of a choice right now anyway, so could we _please_ stop this useless discussion? I certainly don’t have the patience for that”. She scoffed. “Funny thing, actually. One might think one gets _more_ patient when turned into a leech, not aging anymore and all that, but I’ve got the feelin’ it’s the other way round…”. Clarence shook his head disbelievingly, but finally he stopped moving away from her, his heartbeats getting calmer again.

“Thanks. So, ready to move on? ’s not far anymore, so you won’t have to put up with me that much longer”, Julia said, lifting him up again as he slowly nodded.

* * *

The rest of the way wasn’t long anymore, indeed, much to Julia’s relief as withstanding the call of his blood was still challenging – even if she had the feeling that something with its smell was off. Soon Julia could make out the bridge leading to Pembroke hospital and halted. “What is it?”, Clarence enquired quietly, finally having found his voice again.

“I’m just checking if there are any Priwen guards about – they usually shoot first and ask then and I’d rather not have to fish out bullets from my body. Not that I could blame them, ’s most of the time the wisest thing to do when it comes to leeches, considerin’ our abilities and… depravation” She smiled tightly. “Well, _some_ of us are decent, I guess. But still…”. As she saw no one, she jumped down onto the bridge, moving cautiously towards the hospital. “I’m afraid I’ll have to put you down now – I’d rather not explain why I can carry you like this. It’s only a few metres and I’ll support you, though”, she warned him. Clarence nodded, and they made their way towards the entrance together, the man whimpering now and again.

First, they were ignored when they went through the gate, all of the staff seemingly busy with patients. Only when they stepped into the entrance hall, they were greeted by a stressed looking nurse. “We don’t take any patients anymore, we’re already overcrowded”, she stated, beginning to hurry away.

“Oh, come on, you _must_ have at least a chair that man can sit on”, Julia said, stopping her by grabbing her at her arm. The nurse sighed, turning back to her.

“I guess I could try to get you even a bed. But as you can see, I’m quite busy, so my time will cost you something”, she stated, watching the two of them expectantly.

“You… this is outrageous”, Julia spat, shaking her head in disgust. “Extortion, that’s what this is! Shove that bed up your arse an’ just get us a bloody chair! That man’s a good friend of Jo… – Dr Reid, and I’m sure he’ll see to his health personally ‘s soon as he’s back here. We’ll wait for him”, she continued, snarling.

The nurse visibly paled at her words. “This is a misunderstanding! I didn’t mean… I’ll see which bed is free, and get a wheelchair, you can wait at this bench in the meantime”, she stuttered, hurrying away as soon as Julia helped Clarence to sit down.

“I’ll be fine on my own, you don’t have to stay here”, Clarence muttered quietly when the nurse had left.

“Don’t be ridiculous, I won’t leave you after _that_ ‘til I know you’re safe in a bed”, Julia replied, still furious. “Can you believe that woman? I wonder if Jonathan knows ‘bout this – I’ll certainly make sure he does as soon as I talk to him again”, she went on, sitting down next to Clarence. She could feel him flinching at her proximity but compared to before his heartbeat stayed relatively calm.

“Thank you”, he said quietly after a moment of silence. “I’m not sure why such a creature as you are would help me, but you saved my life tonight”, he went on, visibly struggling with each word.

“There’s no need to thank me”, Julia replied, glancing at him. She smiled slightly. “But ’s nice to see that my actions led to _something_ good”. She sighed, clenching her jaw. “Even if I couldn’t put your kidnapper down – each of her future victims will partly be my fault”, she went on. Before Clarence could reply anything, the nurse from before returned, however, bringing a wonky wheelchair with her.

“I’ll take care of him”, the nurse said as soon as Julia had helped him into the chair.

“You really think I’m gonna leave that man before I’ve seen he’s got a bed?”, Julia enquired, following the nurse who began to shove the wheelchair down the hall. The nurse sighed but didn’t object. “ **What’s your name** , by the way?”, Julia enquired after a moment.

“Pippa Hawkins”, the other woman replied.

The ekon nodded. “I’ll remember that”, she stated coolly, before falling back into silence again. They arrived at a vacant room with a single bed shortly after. “Now that’s unexpectedly nice considering you’re ‘overcrowded’”, Julia commented dryly, arching an eyebrow. Nurse Hawkins was smart enough to not comment and busied herself with helping Clarence into the bed.

“What happened? How did you get these injuries?”, she finally enquired directed at Clarence, holding a piece of paper and a pen in her hands.

“He was attacked, the attacker fled when I came by, however”, Julia intercepted, shooting Clarence a warning look. He nodded quietly, even though Julia wasn’t sure if he wouldn’t start warning everyone about vampires as soon as she had left the room. _Well, I’ve tried – and it’s not really important if anyone here thinks he’s nuts. At least he’ll get better here._ “I will take my leave then – someone needs to inform Dr Reid that his friend’s here”, the ekon stated. _Better leave before anyone asks any questions I can’t answer_ , she thought. Nurse Hawkins nodded absent-mindedly, as she was busy with checking Clarence’s leg. _At least Jonathan’s name made her do her feckin’ job_ , Julia pondered, while leaving the hospital. She didn’t go far, however, as she only rounded the building to jump on the balcony of Jonathan’s office, deciding to wait for him there since he hadn’t arrived yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I'll have quite a long and busy day tomorrow and I probably won't be able to do an upload because of it, I decided to do another upload this evening as kind of a compensation. You'll get the next chapter in a few hours :)


	24. Clarence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I won't be able to do an update tomorrow, I'm doing a double update today - if you haven't read "Nasty Surprises" yet, I'd suggest you do so first ;)

Pembroke was buzzing with activity when Jonathan arrived, but despite this he could make out Julia’s form in his office quite clearly. Just before he could jump onto his balcony, the call of Nurse Branagan’s voice stopped him, however. “Dr Reid! Did this woman find you? Your friend is stable but as far as I understood it, Dr Strickland may have found something worrying…”, she exclaimed, hurrying towards him from one of the tents they had to use as the hospital was still completely overcrowded with patients.

“Where is he?”, Jonathan enquired, deciding Julia could wait until he had seen to Clarence’s health. The nurse gave him the room number – much to Jonathan’s surprise it was the single room Harriet Jones had resided in – and the doctor rushed towards it directly after. The ekon couldn’t describe the relief he felt when he found his friend being soundly asleep. His head was bandaged, as well as his leg and Jonathan could smell he was on narcotics, as well as some other substance he couldn’t place, but he was alive, and from the smell of it, also not in the process of turning.

“Ah, Dr Reid! This acquaintance of yours has told you of your friend, then?”, Dr Strickland said from behind, stepping through the open door inside the room.

“Yes, even though she was in quite a hurry, so I’m not sure what exactly transpired”, Jonathan stated, turning around.

“It seems as if Mr Crossley was attacked. He has a fractured tibia as well as a laceration at his head, possibly also a concussion – he complained about feeling nauseous and his behaviour was… uncommon”. The man smirked slightly. “He seemed to believe his attacker was a vampire, after all! I put him on narcotics so he gets some rest, but he’ll probably be up in one or two hours” Jonathan only nodded curtly, deciding not to comment on the vampires. “The fracture is uncomplicated, and I am confident he will recover nicely from it. He claimed to have already felt nauseous and fatigued _before_ the attack, however, and he also suffers from abdominalgia, so I’ve drawn some blood samples in case you wanted to analyse them”, the young doctor continued, sobering.

The ekon frowned at that, a suspicion dawning on him. _She might have added another poison without me realising_ , he thought, alarmed. “I won’t perform the tests, not for now, I want you to do it. Have one of the nurses collect first void urine from him and perform for both the urine and the blood a Marsh test”, Jonathan replied quietly.

The other doctor’s eyes widened. “But this test is meant to show the presence of…”

“Arsenic. Indeed. And an acute arsenical poisoning is known to lead to nausea and abdominalgia. I admit it is a far stretch – I might be wrong about this since many substances and diseases can cause this kind of symptoms and you didn’t mention him showing any signs of diarrhoea, mucositis or uraemia, but arsenic is one of the best-known poisons”. He clenched his jaw. “Clarence and his wife have been on very bad terms for months, Thoreau, and I was apprehending something like this for quite some time now. I didn’t have any proof, however, and Clarence refused to believe me, to even let me perform any tests. He loves her dearly. But if I have the opportunity to intervene, I will do so – if you find anything, please inform the Scotland Yard immediately and also tell them of my suspicions. I want you to do it, so my relationship towards Clarence can’t put any bad light on a possible investigation”, he explained.

Dr Strickland nodded with serious expression. “I will do so, Dr Reid, and I really appreciate your trust – I will inform you should I find anything”, he replied.

Jonathan nodded. “Thank you. And please try to use not all of the samples so we can perform additional tests in case it is not arsenic. I’ll be in my office until Clarence awakes, so if you need anything, you’ll find me there”, he stated, before moving towards the door and heading upstairs where he still sensed Julia.

 “You’re back – I assume you’ve already seen Mr Crossley?”, Julia enquired as soon as he stepped inside the room.

“I have, even though he was asleep. You have no idea how relieved I am to see him being alive”, Jonathan replied, closing the door behind him. The woman cocked her head.

“And yet you seem to be at the verge of cryin’. What happened?”, she asked.

“My mother, she… she’s… dead”, the doctor stated gravely, holding back his tears as he sat down on his bed. With shaken voice, he told Julia what had happened, bowing his head in grief when he was done.

“It was not your fault, Jonathan”, she stated reassuringly, drawing him into a tight embrace. “You have done anything you could do. Anything anyone could do. And from the sound of it, she at least seemed to be happy in her last minute”, she continued, patting his back before releasing him, the two of them falling into a short silence afterwards. “You should contact your lady”, Julia said after a while. “This beast definitely seems to know her, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she could tell you who he is and possibly what he wants. It’d help us greatly to anticipate his next steps – I assume you don’t have an idea about his identity?”

The doctor shook his head. “No, even though his features seemed somehow familiar. But it might have been just my imagination and Elisabeth can be quite secretive about her past”, he stated with rough voice.

Julia scoffed. “Why am I not surprised?”, she replied, biting back a further comment when she saw his face. “An enquiry ‘bout our new leech friend isn’t the only thing you should put in that letter, however”, she went on, hating the fact she had to bother Jonathan with even more bad news in his sorry state, but continuing to tell him everything about her fight with Charlotte, nevertheless. She also mentioned what the nurse had tried before, but that last part didn’t seem to surprise Jonathan much.

“Can things get even worse?”, the doctor uttered darkly when she was done, burying his face in his hands. “Did you get the King’s blood?”, he finally enquired after a moment of silence.

The woman nodded, taking out the flask from her coat. “I have. I’m not sure if she’ll take the antidote, however, she didn’t seem to be in the mood to… cooperate with any of us”, she stated while placing the flask onto one of the work benches.

“I wasn’t going to ask her politely. But the antidote was able to cure Elisabeth’s symptoms even after decades, so it might not be too late for her. I will prepare some doses right away, and I’ll hand some to you and the hunter so you can also administer it. It works best if injected intravenously, but I assume an oral administration would also do”, he replied matter-of-factly while standing up and removing his coat so he could work freely.

“Don’t you think your place is at home, right now? You also can do this there, and you’ve got a funeral to organize. You’d regret leaving this kind of thing to others, believe me – I’m talkin’ of experience here”, Julia said gently.

Jonathan shook his head, averting his eyes from her. “No. Both Charlotte and her Sire got away, so I need to keep an eye on Clarence – plus, I want to talk to him when he awakens. Also, Dr Strickland is right now analysing blood samples he has drawn from him for poisons. If he’s lucky, he might soon have a result”.

“He is? But do you think he’ll find somethin’? You’ve been switching the poison with something harmless, after all”, the other ekon enquired. Jonathan nodded darkly, explaining the symptoms his colleague had found and the suspicions he had regarding to this. “Do you still have the poison you’ve swapped?”, Julia enquired after a moment.

“Yes. But why do you ask?”, the doctor replied.

“Well, first of all it’d be probably best if you get rid of it in case some dumbass suspects _you_. Then, I was thinking of payin’ a short visit to our dear Venus and swapping the bottles again to make sure the police finds somethin’ if they search their house, even if it’s the wrong poison. Where did you say she keeps it?”

Jonathan described it to her, before pleading “You won’t do anything else to her, will you?”

“I’ll only make sure the poison is in the right place. I won’t harm her, I swear – she’s capable of doing that herself with her own actions, after all”, Julia replied, a malicious grin tugging the corners of her lips. Jonathan nodded reluctantly, before handing over the three small bottles he had kept in one of the cupboards. “I’ll leave you then, I want to catch her ‘s long as she’s still awake, and afterwards I’ll have a word with Geoffrey – maybe he has some ideas regarding that ekon. We can stop by in the morning, however. The access to the canals leading to our hideout is only minutes from here, so we could have an eye on Clarence while you go home. You need to rest and care about your family. And… just a word of warning – while I didn’t tell Mr Crossley of your nature, he knows of _mine_ now, and the mental leap towards _yours_ , especially after everythin’ that had transpired, isn’t that far. I also don’t know what Charlotte told him before I came”, she warned him.

“I know, and I’m prepared. But thank you. I’ll have the antidote ready by morning”, Jonathan replied. Julia only nodded and went out on the balcony, heading back towards the West End afterwards.

* * *

She found the house of the Crossley’s easily and knocked determinedly at the front door after checking on movements inside and finding the form of a human moving in one of the upper rooms. It took a moment, but finally the door opened, revealing a blonde woman clad in the latest fashion and wearing a long pearl necklace. “Yes? Who are you?”, the woman greeted her.

“I’m a friend of Clarence. **Let me in** ”, Julia said firmly, suppressing a sneer.

“Of course, come in”, the other woman replied, opening the door wider and stepping aside. “Clarence is not here, and I don’t know when he’ll return from his insane ventures. You can have some tea if you want, but if he’s not back soon I’d suggest you try again tomorrow. It is late”, Venus stated as she closed the door behind the ekon.

“I’m not here for Clarence but for you. You’re Venus, his wife, aren’t you?”, Julia replied curtly.

“I am. But what would you want from me?”, the other woman enquired, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

“Your husband is in hospital, he was attacked”.

“Attacked? Oh my, how terribly dangerous the streets are, nowadays! The hospital won’t charge us, I hope?”, Venus replied, clasping her hands over her mouth.

“No, they won’t, even though one might think you’d be more interested in your husband’s health than the money”, Julia sneered. “They found him havin’ some worrisome symptoms, however, so someone might come to investigate. I thought I’d better warn you – I’m sure ‘s a caring wife you’ll do anything to support a possible investigation and **tell the officers exactly what your feelings regarding your husband are**. Also, I’ve heard you’re kinda fond of this”, the ekon went on, taking out one of the poison bottles from her coat and handing it to Venus – she had swiped it before and was wearing gloves to make sure to leave no fingerprints.

“ **I’d suggest you hide it at the usual place, it’s completely normal I’m givin’ you this, after all. And if someone comes to investigate, you’ll try everything to keep them from finding it, until they have to use force. You can make your endeavours to stop them obvious, as they probably will cooperate with a woman of your uprising much better if she states her will clearly. Oh, and there’s no need to mention my visit to anyone** ”. Julia could see the woman’s eyes glazing over and her face slacking as the commands wound their way into her brain. Satisfied, the ekon nodded, heading towards the door. “I’ll take my leave, then. Thank you very much for your hospitality”. With that, she went back outside into the cool night, leaving Venus alone, the poison still in her hand.

_Now that’s done – Jonathan certainly wouldn’t be happy about what I just did, but I don’t think anything of this damaged her mind permanently._ With a small grin playing on her lips, Julia went back to her hideout. _Let’s hope Geoffrey is back – I need to tell him what happened. Also, I’m more than sure he’s hiding something, and I want to know what it is. Might be that searching a Priwen guard and tipping them off without getting killed isn’t easy, but there’s no way it takes ‘til midnight like he claimed._ With that thought in mind, Julia pushed the door of their house open, finding it empty.

* * *

Jonathan ran his hand through his hair, sighing wearily. After catching himself some rats in the backyard of the hospital, he had spent the last three hours with producing more of the antidote, the resulting nine doses now lying on his work bench. _This should hopefully do it for now_ , the doctor thought, the fight and his overwhelming emotions taking their toll alongside with his permanent state of overwork. But the night still had several hours to go, and he was not done with his work yet. With another sigh, the ekon slipped into his coat and stuffed the flasks with the antidote into one of the pockets – he didn’t feel comfortable to leave them lying around in the open. Bracing himself, he stepped outside his office, heading towards Clarence’s room. He found his friend awake, sipping on a glass of water but stiffening as soon as Jonathan walked in.

“Clarence. Good to see you are awake”, the doctor said, forcing a smile on his lips. The other man didn’t return the smile, however, but set aside the glass hastily on the nightstand before fumbling for something beneath his sheets.

“Stay away from me!”, he exclaimed, brandishing a crucifix in Jonathan’s direction.

Reflexively, Jonathan’s arm went up, protecting his eyes from the sudden bright light. He managed to stay at the place he was standing at despite the repulsion he felt from the relic, however, his encounters with Priwen’s priests in more than one fight helping him to keep his posture steady.

“I… I… I knew it! You… you’re one of them, are you not? You aren’t Johnny, you’re a devil wearing his face!”, Clarence cried out, the panic evident in his voice. The ekon gritted his teeth, knowing that denying it wouldn’t help at all.

“Yes, Clarence, I am a vampire. But that doesn’t mean I’m not also still Johnny”, he replied with strained voice as the continuous assault from the cross brandished at him was weakening him.

“I… I don’t believe you! You won’t trick me, b… beast!”, the other man stuttered, his heartrate spiking as Jonathan took a small step towards him, the repulsion making the movement almost impossible.

“Please, Clarence, I understand you are afraid, but let’s talk this out – I am still your friend!”, the doctor exclaimed, feeling his strength more and more weakening. _I’ll soon have to flee, otherwise the strength needed to withstand this could famish me so much I’m becoming a danger for the patients here_ , he thought desperately.

“Don’t come nearer! I’ll cry out! I’ll reveal you!”, Clarence warned him.

The doctor sighed. “And you think they’ll believe you? All what they will be seeing is a patient with a head injury brandishing a cross at the head surgeon while claiming he’s a vampire. Please, Clarence, I mean you no harm. And even if I did, don’t you think I’d just wait until you are released to catch you unguarded?”, he stated, swallowing as his throat felt increasingly dry.

“You… you… I’ll… I’ll tell the guard of Priwen, then!”, Clarence threatened him.

Despite the situation, Jonathan couldn’t help himself but to laugh dryly. “They already know of me; they even know that I am working here. But if it gives you peace of mind, do as you wish”, he retorted, preparing himself to retreat just as he felt the oppressing light finally diminishing.

“They… they know!?” his friend asked timidly, panickily gripping the crucifix tighter as he saw the ekon relaxing and taking a step towards him. “H… How… What have you done!? Why isn’t it working anymore?”, he enquired, his hand holding the cross starting to shake. Seeing the distress his friend was in, Jonathan stopped.

“I haven’t done anything”, he replied gently, nodding towards the crucifix. “But in my experience, I’m only repelled by this if there’s also some kind of… _will_ forcing me to stand back, simply brandishing it at me without that doesn’t work and the repulsion tends to diminish if the wielder is distracted”. The ekon frowned. “I don’t know why this is, however. It defies logic, as so many things of this… _existence_ do”, he continued, frustrated and more talking to himself.

“You… you didn’t kill me, yet”, Clarence stated after a moment of silence. “I… I… I’ve seen how fast your kind can move, why didn’t you kill me yet?”, the man continued.

Jonathan shook his head in silent exasperation. “I have no intention to kill you, Clarence. Why would I want to do that – you are my oldest friend, after all!”

“But I know what you are! Why would you have come here if not to kill me!?”, Clarence exclaimed.

The doctor sighed again. “First of all, even if this is my day off, I’m still working here, so my presence shouldn’t be much of a surprise. And I wanted to see after your well-being. I also assumed you might have caught on my… secret by now, so I thought you must have questions. So, ask. You deserve some answers”, he replied with forced calmness. His friend swallowed, staring at him disbelievingly. After a while of tense silence, he finally spoke up, however.

“Was that you in France? Did you follow me here?”

The doctor shook his head. “No. I didn’t follow you here. I… I wasn’t turned before I returned to England, in fact”, he replied, taking a deep breath before continuing in low voice and sitting down on a chair beside Clarence’s bed.

“It was in the dead of the night as it happened. I was on my way home from the port, looking forward to see mother and Mary again after all those years”. He swallowed and brushed through his hair. “I haven’t gotten far when I suddenly heard an eerie voice reciting a… disturbing poem. I glanced around, searching for the source of it, when I was suddenly grabbed from behind, teeth biting into my neck”. He locked his eyes with Clarence’s, seeing fear and suspicion battling with curiosity and… compassion. “The pain was… excruciating. I felt the blood leaving my body and I knew I was going to die even before he dropped me to the ground. I fought it until the end, refused to give up, I had still so much to _live_ for” He shook his head with exasperation. “If I only had known…”, he continued darkly, desperation catching up with him at the memories. After another deep breath, the ekon continued with his story, uninterrupted by his friend.

“I was completely disoriented when I awoke. They had tossed me into a mass grave, and I was surrounded by dead, decaying bodies, giving away under my hands and feet when I crawled out, the stench was almost unbearable. But that wasn’t the worst of it… the worst was this terrible _thirst_ I felt, rendering me unable to think of anything else but sating that powerful desire…” He bowed his head in shame and grieve. “Then, there was suddenly this… _delicious_ smell, along with that _heartbeat_ … It called to me like a siren’s song. I couldn’t refuse it, didn’t even want to, so I followed it. Someone embraced me, I could hear words being spoken, but I couldn’t make them out. All that mattered was the beating heart and the _smell_ she was radiating… So, I bit down, drank all that I could…”, he continued, his voice breaking at the end. “It was too late when my head finally cleared, when I realised what _I had done_! That it was _Mary_ I was holding in my arms, dying as I had drained her veins almost completely!”.

Clarence’s eyes widened in terror. “You… You are the one that murdered Mary!? You _killed_ your own sister for her blood!?”, he exclaimed.

Jonathan shook his head. “No, what I did was even worse”, he stated with toneless voice, searching the gaze of his friend. “When I… as I realised what I had done, I tried to save her, to stop the bleeding, but it was too late. She was dying and there was nothing I could do about it. A guard of Priwen had seen the scene, however, and shot at me, so I was… I was forced to leave her there, to flee. I… I kissed her a final goodbye before I left and there must have been some of my blood on my lips, falling into her mouth when I did so…”, he went on, worrying his lower lip as he saw the realisation dawning on Clarence face.

“No…”, he breathed, disbelieving.

The ekon nodded gravely. “Yes. I’ve turned her, unintendedly, unknowingly. And, even worse, I just left her waking up alone, without any help or explanation”. He averted his gaze. “I only found out several days later. She had sought me out, leaving a trail of bodies while doing so – her mind was broken, Clarence. Broken because what I had done to her! She even wanted to _kill_ mother, I could only barely stop her…” Jonathan closed his eyes, a single crimson tear running over his cheek.

“In the end, she _begged_ me to end her. She _begged_ for death as she couldn’t bear the un-life I had forced upon her”. He hid his face in his hands. “You are at least somewhat right, Clarence. I might be still Johnny, but I… I have become _death_ , bringing harm and disaster to anyone surrounding me – Mary, you, my mother… even this hospital. I have tried again and again to deny it, to use my abilities to do something useful, to _help_ people, but it keeps on catching up with me. If it’s not me causing the harm directly, it is other immortals targeting the ones that surround me to get to me”, he finished, the tears he had been holding back all this time finally flowing freely.

A long silence fell between them after that, only interrupted by Jonathan’s heavy breathing as he tried to gather himself again. “If you care so much, then why did you leave your mother alone all that time? You didn’t even show up at your sister’s funeral, a funeral held because you had _murdered_ her!”, Clarence finally enquired sharply, the terror in his voice replaced with wrath. Jonathan looked towards the ground, ashamed.

“I was at the funeral”, he admitted in a low voice. “But… I couldn’t bring myself to look into my mother’s eyes after what I had done, so I… hid. And… I tried to be there for my mother afterwards, but there was so much going on… This terrible epidemic alongside with the threats of the immortals – and my mere _existence_ threatened her, cost her life in the end! I should have stayed away for good…”, he went on, tears threatening to run again.

“What do you mean by that? What have you done!?”, Clarence enquired, terror finding his way in his voice again.

“I… You weren’t the only one abducted this night, Clarence”, Jonathan replied with pained voice. “There is a reason I didn’t come for you myself. The… ekon that sired Charlotte, he… he abducted my mother. He tried to kill her in front of my eyes, and whilst I could stop him from doing that, her heart… she couldn’t take it. She died in my arms, and if Julia hadn’t helped me, you would have died because of me, as well. Or worse, you’d have been turned”.

“Why?”, Clarence enquired after a moment of silence.

“Why what?”, the ekon replied.

“Why did they do that? What do they want from you and why would they even think you cared about us… us _humans_? And why would... this other vampire be helping me? Why wouldn’t she just… kill me, she obviously wanted my blood, after all!”

The doctor sighed deeply. “I’m not sure why this ekon is hunting me. Not yet, at least. But you can be sure that I’m going to put an end to it. For why I’d care… I have tried to tell you this already. The fact that I am a vampire doesn’t mean I’m not Jonathan anymore. Yes, there is a part of me that _longs_ for the blood of all humans surrounding me, and that part has turned me into a monster and a murderer, but I am also still _me._ Our personality doesn’t simply vanish when we are turned, Clarence, and this also applies to Julia”. He smiled weakly. “She was not feigning her dislike of vampires when speaking to you and, frankly, what you have seen her doing this night basically is what she’s doing most of the nights. Being a vampire doesn’t mean you simply embrace death and suffering and we are, after overcoming the initial haze upon awakening, able to control our thirst. Even if it is harder at some times than at others”, he continued.

Clarence shook his head disbelievingly. “You… I should despise you. Despise you for what you are and what you’ve done. But…” He frowned. “You still _sound_ so much like the Johnny I’ve known, and I’d never have expected a _vampire_ saving my life. I don’t understand it. You’re supposed to be soulless devils and yet…”.

The ekon nodded understandingly. “I understand this must be a lot to process. But you’re not alone, Clarence. There are… people beside me with knowledge about vampires, you should talk with them. One of them should be fairly accessible for you as soon as you can leave the hospital. His name is Usher Talltree, and he is the primate of the brotherhood of Saint Paul’s Stole, I’m sure you’ve heard of them… He’s mostly to be found in the crypt beneath Temple church, at least during the night. Tell him I sent you. And you also should talk with someone of Priwen”. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “They know a lot about recognising and fighting vampires, after all. And also… the ekon causing my mother’s death as well as Charlotte are still out there”. His eyes locked with Clarence’s. “They might try coming for you again, Clarence. I will do what I can to protect you and Julia already agreed on helping me, but there is only so much that I can do, especially when I have to hunt after him to end this sick game. You will need their protection”. He smirked sadly. “Although you’d probably better not mention to _them_ that it was _me_ who sent you”.

“I… I will think about it. About everything you have said”, his friend finally replied.

“Thank you, Clarence. If… I know of your opinion regarding vampires and I can’t say I blame you for it, but… if you could… if you would… if we still could be friends despite anything…”

“I don’t know about that, Johnathan. You… you might be Johnny on the outside, but inside you still are a monster, you _killed_ your own sister!”

The ekon nodded sadly. “I see. And I understand. But please, promise me that you at least take care of yourself – try to stay inside private buildings during the night, at least until I have brought down this menace and _please_ talk to the guard of Priwen – they had their old headquarters in Whitechapel and whilst I know they have moved it, I’d assume that’d be a good starting point to ask around. I’ll see that you get a pass to move between the districts”. He furrowed his brow. “From what Venus has told me you’ve already gotten the influenza during the first wave, anyway”. Clarence nodded at that, obviously lost in thoughts. “I… I’ll leave you for now, then. I’ll be nearby as I need to see nobody’s coming for you, but I won’t bother you. Try to rest, you need it”, Jonathan stated, waiting a moment for an answer but finally leaving the room when none came.

* * *

The rest of the night Jonathan tried to do some more research on the cure for Elisabeth (and possibly also Charlotte), but he couldn’t focus properly, even not after catching himself some more rats to tame the reawakened thirst. In the end, he ended up pacing his room while alternately surveying his surroundings and watching over Clarence’s slumbering form with his vampire senses as a sudden knock at his balcony door startled him out of his brooding. _Julia and the hunter_ , the doctor thought while getting to the door to open it. _They’re early. And why didn’t I sense them before?_ , he thought, screening the area, alarmed at his lack of awareness.

“Jonathan. Did you make the antidote?”, Julia enquired as soon as she stepped inside, the hunter following at her heels.

“Yes”, Jonathan replied, nodding.

“Good. It seems that the situation is even worse than we had anticipated”, the woman replied, before telling him the news she had gotten from Geoffrey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it'd seem while Johnny finally got a well-needed hug, he might also have lost a friend. But then Clarence is at least alive. Yet.
> 
> Edit: Just realised I forgot to mention that: Chapter 20 was the one where I took some inspiration from "The consequences of friendship if you're dead" - it was basically the villain targeting Jonathan over the things he cared. While I had already planned the parts with Emelyne, Charlotte and Clarence, I had completely forgotten about Pembroke hospital until I read a certain part about the hospital in said story. Just didn't want to give the credit directly after chapter 20 because of the possible spoilers, that's the reason I delayed and almost forgot it...


	25. Priwen Does Not Negotiate. Does It?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to find out what Geoffrey was up to, isn't it?
> 
> Since I'll be throwing several new names at you in this chapter (sorry, but it was necessary), I have decided to do the hovertext not only once for each variant of the name this time, but for every time the name pops up again as soon as it hadn't shown up for some paragraphs. Well, at least for the new names. 
> 
> Also, the "Tom" in this Chapter is Thomas Benson, the new leader of Priwen, not the Tom from the Turquoise Turtle. ~~And I totally didn't only realise that naming a major original character "Thomas" in a vampyr fanfic maybe isn't such a good idea until I had already written most of it out and cemented that name into my brain. Nope, I totally did it on purpose to confuse you.~~

_One night before, Priwen headquarters._

“… we can’t just sit on our thumbs an’ do nothin’! This has gone on far too long, we need to get out there an’ hunt them down, like we always did!”, Robert Gibson, a huge, bald man with a nasty scar on his right cheek, exclaimed. Thomas Benson, the new head of Priwen, gave the enraged captain a weary look.

“You stated that already several times, Rob. But you know as well as I do that…”, he started, being interrupted by a sharp knock at the door. “What is it?”, he enquired. _This better be important, I told them this meeting is not to be disturbed._ The opening door revealed one of the guards on duty of guarding the main door of their new headquarters.

“Apologies for the interruption, sir. But Sergeant Smith has returned an’ he said he’s got urgent news. Thought it’d be best he reports to you directly”, the man said.

“Smith’s returned alive? What about his squad?”, Thomas replied, pleasantly surprised.

“’m afraid they didn’t make it, sir”, the other man answered. The leader of Priwen nodded sadly.

“Let him come in and then get back to your post”, he stated. The guard nodded, hurrying away and revealing a young man with mouse-brown hair whose neck and right arm were covered with fresh bandages. He stepped inside hesitantly and closed the door behind him. “Please, have a seat. And then tell us if the sacrifice this insubordination of yours has caused was at least worth it”, Thomas said sharply, gesticulating to one of the empty chairs around the table.

Sergeant Smith swallowed visibly but faced Priwen’s leader and the captains still proudly while slowly sitting down. “It ain’t been only my decision, each ‘f the boys accompanyin’ me had volunteered”, Smith started defiantly. “I mean, that were our friends out there – we couldn’t jus’ sit ‘ere an’ do nothin’ ‘bout the beasts that ‘ad them killed”.

Thomas sighed wearily. “Please, get to the point, sergeant. What did you find?”, he enquired after a moment.

“It all started when we entered Southwark – firs’ everythin’ was quiet, but then we suddenly realised chaplain Parker ‘ad vanished, without anyone noticin’ it first. ‘f course we suspected leeches right off an’ searched for the signs tellin’ you one is lurkin’ about. Then Àron saw a movement an’ shot at it, an’ it was a leech alright, an ekon, one of those that can vanish into thin air. Got us all pretty nervous, but then we ‘ad been expectin’ somethin’ nasty, killin’ off all that patrols an’ such. We didn’t recognise the leech, so it wasn’t one of our turned ones an’ we thought we’d handle it. But then another one jumped off a bloody roof, an’ a third one suddenly drained Johnson…”. The sergeant bowed his head. “They ‘ad them killed in seconds. Didn’t even care ‘bout their blood, mostly, jus’ ripped them apart”, he continued with pained voice.

“But how did you survive, then? No offence, but one man against three vampires is an impossible fight to win”, Esther, another of the captains, interrupted him. Smith turned his face towards the black-haired woman.

“I… I ‘ad help”, he stated, obviously uncomfortable. “You see, I thought the same, I thought they’d kill me for sure, hadn’t even any bullets left to end meself in case those beasts decide to turn me – an’ one ‘f them ‘ad me grabbed by my throat already, as suddenly a bolt pierced its heart an’ it just dropped dead! Before I ‘ad even realised what had ‘appened, McCullum showed up from fuckin’ nowhere an’ started fightin’ the other two leeches” He shook his head. “It was bloody terrifyin’ to watch, I tell you – I‘ve never seen any leech move ‘s fast as he did! An’ he even drained one ‘f the other leeches, didn’t think it was possible”, the man went on.

“What happened then?”, Thomas enquired quietly.

Captain Gibson huffed. “What d’you think happened? Probably that fuckin’ leech charmed him to believe he’s still on our side”, he stated sourly, giving Priwen’s leader a meaningful look.

Before Thomas could answer, sergeant Smith went on with his story, however. “Don’t think he did anythin’ like that, sir. He didn’t say much, actually”. The captain snorted disbelievingly at that. “’s true. Jus’ handed me a letter an’ some ammo an’ said I should get my arse out ‘f there an’ ‘ead back to the headquarters. Said he’d come an’ desecrate my body personally if I dare to get myself killed, as the letter’s important. Then he bloody jumped on one ‘f the roofs an’ was gone before I could even say a single word”

“I assume you have the letter with you, then? What is it about?”, Thomas enquired.

“’f course I’ve got it – but you better read it yourself, sir”, the other man answered, handing out a crinkled envelope.

“What does it say?”, Esther asked when she saw their leader’s eyes widen as he parsed through the papers lying inside.

“It’s a list with names – and according to what Geoffrey writes in the accompanying letter this is the complete list of all leech members of the Ascalon club”, Thomas stated, handing the papers over to his captains.

“Must be a ruse”, Robert said sceptically.

“Then it’s quite a good one”, Joseph Cohen, a short but bulky, brown-haired man in his early thirties and the newest appointed captain replied thoughtfully. “See those three names? We only found out about them a few days ago, there’s no way McCullum knows of them”, he went on.

“Tsk. _If_ nobody ‘as told him. And I still don’t see a reason stoppin’ that leech from mixin’ genuine names with fake ones”, Robert responded scornfully.

“Even if he did, this list could prove quite useful”, Thomas intercepted.

“Yeah, of fuckin’ course _you_ ’d say that”, the captain replied.

Thomas only shook his head, deciding to keep this discussion for later and turning back to the sergeant who was still sitting on the chair. “What happened with the bodies of your fallen comrades – are you sure they won’t come back?”, he enquired, having the recent incidents in mind.

Sergeant Smith nodded sadly. “Most ‘f them, yeah – saw to it personally when the beasts ‘adn’t destroyed their hearts or heads anyway. Ain’t sure ‘bout chaplain Parker, though”, he replied, his jaw clenching when he remembered what he had been forced to do.

Priwen’s leader nodded approvingly. “You’ve done the right thing, as hard as it must have been. When you headed here – how certain are you Geoffrey didn’t follow you?”, he asked further.

Smith shrugged. “I tried to lay some wrong leads, but he’s a leech, ‘fter all, an’ a fuckin’ fast one, too. An’ I couldn’t do that for too long, since I was alone an’ with limited ammo”, he said apologetically.

“I see. I will think about the consequences of your insubordination, sergeant, but first you should rest”. He turned back to his captains. “Esther, could you please accompany the sergeant into one of our single rooms and make sure he is watched until we can be sure he won’t turn? And Rob, set up two additional patrols to guard the headquarters in case Geoffrey decides to show up”, he ordered. The two captains nodded silently and got up. “Thank you. Head back as soon as you are done, it would seem we have even more to discuss than originally thought”.

It didn’t take long before the two captains returned, a short silence falling between them while Joseph still read through the list Smith had handed them. “So, what’re you gonna do to punish that poor boy for doin’ the fuckin’ right thing?”, Robert finally enquired crassly.

Thomas sighed. “He didn’t do the ‘right thing’, Rob. He defied a direct order, leading to the death of each and everybody accompanying him”, he replied calmly.

“Ha! But then he actually ‘ad success in findin’ the culprit, didn’t he, now? That’s more than we’ll gonna get by _sittin’ around_ like old women!” Robert exclaimed agitatedly.

“Did he? All he found was three ekons attacking them. He did _not_ find _their_ maker and if not for Geoffrey, Smith would’ve died along with his squad or, worse, he’d have come back turned while those leeches would still be roaming the streets. It would’ve been the same thing as with many of the other patrols those last few nights. Which is the exact reason I refuse to send out anyone without proper planning and, if possible, more information about what’s going on”, Priwen’s leader shot back, his tone still calm.

“Yeah, an’ we’re gonna get this information you speakin’ of by holin’ up ‘ere – how’s that supposed to happen? Also, don’t you find it somewhat suspicious that that leech suddenly shows up just to save one of our men an’ hand out ‘helpful’ intel on Ascalon, when we ain’t ‘ave heard a single word ‘f him since his turning?”, the captain spat back, rising from his chair and placing his hands on the desk.

“We did hear a word from him since his turning”, Thomas stated quietly.

“Yeah, when he’s hauntin’ our patrols to bloody freak them out an’ when ya forced him to talk ‘bout fuckin’ Arthur’s blood. Which, I wanna mention, the leech took with him thanks to you”.

Thomas shook his head. “I’m not talking about the King’s blood. I’m referring to the information he gave to me when we talked yesterday, which was one of the reasons I’ve set up this meeting”, he replied.

“You _talked_ to Geoffrey? How? When? And where?”, Esther enquired, raising her eyebrows.

“That’s a bloody good question”, Robert agreed darkly.

Thomas sighed. “I went to the old headquarters to look for the missing weapons before heading here last night, since the old building’s only a stone’s throw from my flat. Geoffrey turned up out of the nowhere as soon as I had opened the door and we had a quite interesting conversation. _If_ anything he told me is the truth, of course”.

“Tsk. An’ considerin’ that leech was able to ‘save’ Smith an’ you’re also unscathed, I guess you just let him walk away _again_ , didn’t you?”.

“I did. You know as well as I do that there is no way to defeat an ekon as powerful as Geoffrey single-handedly without severe backup like UV-lights or the benefit of the surprise, Rob”, Priwen’s leader replied.

Robert scoffed at that. “Yeah. Severe backup like you ‘ad at _fuckin’ Ascalon_! Where _you_ ‘ave stopped us from shootin’ those bloody leeches ‘s soon as we saw them!”, the bald captain retorted, riled up.

“Our main goals that night were to take out most of Ascalon’s members as well as gathering any intelligence about the recent events we can. Since the first goal was obviously already fulfilled without our intervention, commanding you to halt seemed the most reasonable thing to do in order to fulfil the second. Also, the situation needed reassessment. Neither Reid nor Geoffrey are leeches to be trifled with”, Thomas said, pinching the bridge of his nose in tired exasperation.

“An’ look ‘ow well _that_ worked out! If you hadn’t commanded us to stop, we could’ve taken out the two most dangerous leeches in this bloody city – ‘s for information, we could’ve jus’ caught Leigh like we ‘ad planned doin’ with one of those Ascalon bastards an’ torture the truth out of her. I’m sure she’d ‘ave known most of their plans as she’s obviously McCullum’s new bed bunny – it would’ve been the piece ‘f a cake!”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that last part. If I interpret the information I’ve got from Dublin yesterday correctly, Leigh is not to be underestimated”, Joseph intercepted.

“Murray finally found something on her?”, Thomas enquired.

Joseph nodded and placed several pieces of papers on top of the desk. “It seems he had been searching in the wrong places all the time since he was looking for the signs of a seasoned leech. This” he started, pointing on one of the papers, “is the summary of the police’s file of a ‘Julia Leigh’, born at the 13th of September in 1893, who was adopted by her aunt and moved to Dublin in 1905. She was reported missing by a friend of hers about one week ago. According to her employer, the last time she had turned up for her shift was the 17th of October, after that date she suddenly stopped coming to work. One of her co-workers claimed to have met her in the dead of the night after that date, however, describing her as ‘pale and confused’ and claiming she was sick”.

“So, she’s a neonate – that only makes things easier, doesn’t it?”, Robert interrupted him brashly.

“I’m not done yet”, Joseph retorted, shaking his head. “Whilst I agree with you that Leigh is quite probably a newborn, Murray had some interesting additional information”, he went on. “As I said, the last date Leigh was spotted during the day was the 17th October, meaning she must have been turned later on. In the morning of the 19th October, six corpses void of any blood were found beside the Liffey, all of them draped obviously in a way to make them unmissable. Two of them had already been reported missing _before_ Leigh’s probable turning, so this would appear to be unrelated if not for one interesting fact: One of the bodies was a leech, and he was also completely drained, his body still being intact since it was found before sunrise. Only one day later, the body of another dead leech turned up which again showed bite marks at his neck, as if attacked by one of his own. Again, the body was not even remotely hidden, and both incidents were not far from Leigh’s home. A pattern repeating itself over the next two weeks – I’m sure you remember Daley’s report about that. It suddenly stopped, however, when Daley died. Which was only a few days before Leigh showed up in London, considering the information we got from the Turquoise Turtle. So, this phenomenon started at the probable date of Leigh’s turning and ended just before that leech left Dublin. A coincidence? I highly doubt that”, the brown-haired man explained.

“So, you’re saying that _Leigh_ was the new player hunting down all those vampires? A newborn?”, Esther enquired doubtfully.

Joseph nodded. “Yes. And the only newborn capable of taking out several more seasoned leeches within a few nights after its rebirth _I_ recall is Reid. Possibly also McCullum, if the incident at Ascalon as well as the things Esther unearthed when she went to Talltree to check Tom’s story about the King’s blood are any indication. And we _all_ know what a powerful leech that doctor is”, he concluded. A deep silence fell between them after that.

“This fits to what Geoffrey has told me about Leigh”, Thomas finally stated thoughtfully.

“’f fuckin’ course you’d claim that. Interestin’, how things started to go to shit ‘s soon as McCullum was turned into a leech. An’ also interestin’ that you keep protectin’ this beast despite that obvious fact. Makes one wonder ‘bout your state ‘f mind, if you ask me”, Robert huffed.

“We already have had this discussion, Gibson. But even _if_ Geoffrey charmed Tom, I’d still like to hear what he wants us to know – that can’t hurt, don’t you think? It’s not like _Tom_ could mesmerize us”, Esther intervened, nodding towards their leader to encourage him to speak on.

Exhaling deeply, Thomas did just that, repeating everything Geoffrey had told him to the three captains. “A mysterious mind-connection between maker an’ progeny? An’ you think we’d believe that?”, Robert enquired sceptically when he was done.

Thomas only shrugged. “ _Geoffrey_ does, obviously. But I have to admit it _would_ explain some of the things the guard has witnessed during the hunts”.

“That’s bullshit, Tom, an’ you know it! Or you _should_ know, at least! That leech did somethin’ to your mind, that’s also the reason you want us to jus’ _sit ‘ere_ instead of goin’ outside an’ huntin’ down the beasts that killed our comrades!”, Robert spat furiously.

“I _don’t_ want to just hole up in our headquarters for eternity as you seem to think”, Thomas retorted sternly. “All I am planning to do is to fall back until we have a new strategy or new information to avoid casualties as far as possible”.

“I assume you have an idea for a new strategy, then?”, Esther enquired.

Priwen’s leader nodded. “I do. I have two ideas, in fact, one of them popped up when Smith handed over that list”, he replied, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands over his belly. “My first idea was to assign small, last-minute patrols replacing our usual schedule. I thought of putting several persons independently in charge of that and advising them to be as secretive about their plans as possible. While this will certainly lead to overlaps in patrolling areas and times and thus a waste of resources, this approach has the highest probability of avoiding that snitch we must have and possibly even exposing him”.

“An’ I assume you’d be still in charge of overseein’ everything!?”, Robert snarled.

Thomas shook his head. “No. I will stay clear of this, even though that independent assignment of this patrol without my knowledge you pulled off _should_ already have proven that I am _not_ involved since it also vanished”. He sighed. “This strategy will, however, most certainly cost more lives until we finally find out who’s behind all this trouble. That’s the reason for my other idea”, he went on.

“Let’s hear it, then”, Joseph encouraged him.

“We use Geoffrey”, Thomas stated after a moment of hesitation.

“Geoffrey!? You can’t be serious! We can’t have a fuckin’ leech in the guard – if anyone needed more proof ‘bout the state ‘f your mind, that’s it!”, Robert exclaimed.

“I’m not talking about inviting him back into the guard, Rob”, Thomas retorted, glaring at the other man. “I was more thinking about using him as a tool”, he went on.

“What do you mean by that?”, Esther enquired.

“Our main problem is that most of our scouting parties either simply vanish or are sent back turned. Only the most spontaneous ventures as well as parties impractically big seem to be an exception of this. My first approach to eliminate this problem was to be unpredictable. But we could also circumvent it by sending a leech in the first place – he cannot be turned since he already _is_ a beast, and if he vanishes, there’s nothing lost to us. There is, of course, always the risk that he tries to trick us, but I think we can minimize this by doublechecking anything he says as well as never talking to him alone. Setting up a deliberate meeting with Geoffrey would also give us the opportunity to take him out, if needed. So, my suggestion is to invite him to the old headquarters. There, we question him and if we don’t like the answers, we’ll end him – the place is more than big enough to station more than enough men there, after all. _If_ we like them, however, we use him to scout the area, to find out which leech is responsible of systematically turning our boys. He might try something, then, but if we’re careful we won’t fall to it. And if he doesn’t, we have a won a valuable source of information”, Thomas explained.

“This is ridiculous. Priwen ain’t collaborating with leeches! If Carl knew of this – “, Robert started, only to be interrupted by Priwen’s leader.

“Carl is dead, Rob. And his successor has been turned into a leech _because_ Carl never considered to rethink the old ways and _burnt_ the very information that could’ve saved Geoffrey’s life! I’m sorry, but I think Priwen needs to reform itself, and since _I_ am the leader now, I’m planning to do right that”.

“So, you’ll just disregard everythin’ we’re sayin’ an’ go through with it?”, the bald captain sneered.

Thomas shook his head. “Whilst I doubt that Geoffrey has managed to meddle with my mind, there _is_ a remaining possibility and I won’t risk the guard because of it. I will leave this decision to the three of you. And _if_ you should decide the contact I had to Geoffrey is too much of a risk, I’ll resign quietly. We cannot afford the leadership of the guard to be torn apart by this, especially not in these times. I’ll wait outside for your decision, so you can discuss unperturbed”, he stated, before getting up and heading to the door. He could hear a heated discussion breaking out as soon as he had closed it behind him, and with a weary sigh he headed towards the window at the end of the corridor and opened it.

_Am I doing the right thing? But I don’t see another option – hell, I always have wondered how Geoffrey managed all this_ , he thought, while taking the tobacco pouch out of his jacket to roll himself a cigarette. Smoking helped, and he felt somewhat calmer when the door of the conference room was opened again and Esther stepped out. “Mind to share?”, she enquired, stepping towards him after closing the door behind herself carefully.

“Of course not. I’ll roll you one”, Thomas replied. “You’ve decided, then?”, he enquired, handing the freshly prepared cigarette over to the woman and offering her fire.

“Well, _I_ have, but Gibson and Joseph are still discussing. I thought I could use the time for a one-to-one conversation with you, however”, she responded, inhaling appreciatively afterwards. “Ah. You’ve always got a much better taste when it comes to smoking than Joseph”, she jested.

“I’d think everything’s better than the shit _he_ smokes”, Thomas replied, smirking, before sobering. “What do you want to talk about? I hope you’re not planning to also accuse me of being mesmerized by Geoffrey – I’m getting tired of this and it’s not like your enquiries would help even _if_ this was the case – I probably wouldn’t realise it myself”.

Esther shook her head, taking another drag of her cigarette. “No, I completely agree with you on that. Also, I highly doubt any neonate could break through your mental defences like that, even if he’s as powerful as Geoffrey probably is. I also don’t share Gibson’s belief that Geoffrey is the mastermind behind all the incidents of the recent nights – he has a point regarding the timing of it, of course. But then newborn leeches have the tendency to cling to some of their old personality and I can’t imagine Geoffrey pulling the strings of something like Angus’ turning. Especially not only one or two nights after being turned himself. No, I’m thinking of something else entirely”, she stated, dropping some ash out of the window. Thomas said nothing and simply arched an enquiring eyebrow, taking a drag of his cigarette himself.

“Whilst I don’t believe that Geoffrey charmed you, your lack of violence against this… leech _is_ noticeable. So, tell me, have you only not attacked him because you either lacked opportunity or needed information from him, or did you do so because you are still considering him a friend? The two of you have been almost as close as brothers, after all – if I recall it correctly, Carl has trained him alongside you, hasn’t he?”, she went on.

Thomas closed his eyes and sighed deeply, before taking the last drag of his cigarette and looking thoughtfully out of the window. “He did. Training next to a young boy as Geoffrey was at that point felt somewhat degrading at first, but hell, he was a natural. I’ve stopped questioning this decision after only a few weeks and it didn’t take long until Geoffrey and I were almost inseparable”. He sighed again and stubbed out the remains of his cigarette on the window board. “You know, I keep telling myself that this leech isn’t Geoffrey anymore. That he’s a monster now, wearing my friend’s face, needed to be ended. And most of the times, it’s working like it always did”, he said, turning back to his conversation partner. “I’m pretty sure, if I’d ever see any proof of Geoffrey harming an innocent, I’d take him out personally. But… whenever I spoke to him, he wasn’t… He still spoke like _Geoffrey_ – even seemed to act like I’d expect him to, apart from the fact he didn’t end himself as soon as he had realised what he’s become, obviously. I’ve never seen a leech so convincing”. He shook his head, locking his eyes with hers afterwards. “So, the honest answer is: I don’t know. I know it is my duty to take him out, and I also don’t doubt I’ll do exactly that if it ever comes to _him_ or any other human. But a part of me still wishes that at least _something_ of my friend remains, and I’m afraid this indeed clouds my judgement”. He smiled weakly. “I’m just a human, after all”, he concluded.

Esther nodded thoughtfully. “I see. That’s pretty much what I thought – hell, it’s even hard for me and I never knew him as well as you did”. She narrowed her eyes. “You can be sure that _I_ will see to his end if I find it necessary, however”, she continued.

Thomas nodded sadly. “And that is reassuring”, he replied.

The woman inclined her head. “Well, I’ll better head back, I’ve got a vote to make. And thank you for the cigarette”, she stated, before stubbing her cigarette out and heading back into the conference room.

It didn’t take long before Joseph called Thomas in, his expression serious. “What have you decided?”, Thomas enquired as soon as he had sat down onto his chair.

“We will proceed with Geoffrey as we see fit, leaving you out of the process entirely. In fact, you will be isolated until we know for sure if or if not you and that leech are in any way involved in the events of the last nights”, Esther stated calmly.

“You want me to resign, then?”, Thomas enquired, his heart sinking.

“Nah. We’ve voted unanimously for you to be our new leader an’ we’re gonna stick to that. But we need to make sure you ain’t been compromised. Or, if so, take out the leech who did it to fix it”, Robert replied.

“I see. Well, I guess there’s nothing left to say for me, then. You’ll allow me to fetch some personal stuff before you lock me in, I hope?”

Esther nodded. “Of course – Joseph will accompany you. He’ll also see to the discretion of this situation. There is no need to worry the boys unnecessarily”, she responded.

“Very well”, Thomas said, getting up and heading back to the door, Joseph following at his heels.

“Seems like it’s time to do a little writin’, woman”, Robert said as soon as the two had left the room.

“Indeed. Lucky thing I’ve got a lot of correspondence from Tom to work with – I’d never had thought I’d use this ability to fake the writing of one of my comrades”, Esther agreed, her thoughts already swirling around possible phrasings of the invitation she was going to write.

* * *

_One night later._

Geoffrey was perfectly aware that he was probably about to run into a trap with eyes wide opened. Still, he couldn’t help himself, so he bid Julia goodbye when she left to meet with Reid, claiming he wanted to try warning his men of Chadana’s progenies and maker. _Only half a lie_ , the hunter thought guiltily while he headed towards Priwen’s previous headquarters, the meeting point the letter he had gotten from Thomas had suggested. He found the streets around the building buzzing with life since several Priwen patrols were guarding the place, amongst them at least two priests as far as Geoffrey could tell.

_Whatever it is Thomas wants to discuss, he made an official matter of it. Or, more likely, he finally decided to put an end to me – even though he made an quite obvious trap of this if that’s the case_ , Geoffrey mused while circling the place in secure distance to give himself more time to decide if he really wanted to show himself. _Going in there is most likely suicide._ But he couldn’t just stay away – what if Thomas indeed needed his help? The ekon had considered of showing Thomas’ letter to Julia, but then she’d probably have insisted on accompanying him, and he didn’t want neither her nor any of his boys getting hurt in case things escalated. _Also, her presence certainly wouldn’t make things easier and her investigation with Reid is also important_ , he pondered, before sighing silently. _Who am I fooling? I can’t just turn my back to them, so I’d better get over with this before I wind up late_. With a last glance over the roofs, Geoffrey jumped down on the street, and approached one of the patrols slowly with raised hands.

“Hold your weapons, that’s McCullum!”, one of the men shouted, his crossbow being pointed straight into the ekon’s face.

“Wouldn’t have thought he really shows up”, another one muttered, while the group carefully drew closer to their former leader.

“Your weapons”, the first man stated calmly, holding out his hand demandingly. Geoffrey had expected as much (a reason why he had decided to let his crossbow in the hideout, he didn’t want to lose it in case he needed to bolt) and handed his gun and sword over without any comment. The guard (Ben Sanderson, if the ekon recalled it correctly), took them with a nod before gesticulating towards the building.

“He’s already waiting for you”, he stated, the patrol accompanying Geoffrey to the front door. _The building’s packed with guards – if I wouldn’t know better, I’d assume they’re still using it as headquarters_ , Geoffrey thought when he sensed the people inside the old warehouse. He couldn’t sense Tom among them, however, a fact that made him even more nervous than he had already been before. He was greeted by blinding light as soon as he opened the door, which left him half blinded and blinking furiously for a moment. _I bet they did that on purpose_ , the ekon thought grudgingly, inhaling deeply to get himself a better idea of his surroundings while his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness. The air carried mostly the smell of many humans and a stale building, but also of… _metal and fresh wood? Did they build something?_ , he pondered, freezing in his tracks as his gaze darted upwards to the origin of the smell. _Bloody UV lights – hell, by the look of it those are the ones Swansea had installed in Pembroke. I wonder how they got them out of there. Huh, they’ve probably tried to hide them from me with those blinding lights they installed alongside._

“Go on in, we don’t have all evening, _leech_ ”, Ben urged him on impatiently. _As far as I can see all exists including the windows are guarded, not to mention the UV lights which will render me almost unable to move as soon as they’re turned on. If I want to bolt, now’s probably the last opportunity – and by the looks of it, this is not going to be a pleasant conversation. More of an execution, possibly with an interrogation before. Still, it could be just precaution on their side and I can’t let them down if they need me._ Gritting his teeth and expecting to get hit by burning rays at any moment, the ekon finally stepped into the building.

The burning sensation didn’t come, however, only the door was slammed shut behind him, the patrol that had been accompanying him taking position next to it and effectively blocking the last exit. Hesitantly, Geoffrey stepped further inside, surprised by the lack of burning and general violence. He still couldn’t make out Tom anywhere, however, despite being able to sense now each and everybody inside the building. There was a presence familiar to his leech senses, however… “Searchin’ for someone, are we now?” Robert exclaimed, stepping out from the room that had been Priwen’s infirmary once.

“Aye. I’d have expected Tom at least has the courtesy to show up after he invited me here”, Geoffrey replied, eying the bald captain cautiously.

“Don’t ya think your thrall hasn’t caused enough damage already?”, the man enquired acidly.

“My what?”, the ekon replied, blinking with surprise and narrowing his eyes as he understood. “Ah. So that’s what you’re thinking”, he continued sadly, his heart sinking. _If they really think I mesmerised Thomas, then I’m as good as dead._ He sighed. “I haven’t done anything to Tom’s mind, I never would. But then I won’t be able to prove it, and neither will he. You know that. So just let’s get over with this, shall we? I’d ask only one thing before you put an end to me…”, he went on.

“An’ what’d that be? Keep your bloody mind tricks to yourself, leech, they ain’t gonna work!”, Robert exclaimed.

Geoffrey shook his head. “As I said, I’d never do something like this to any of you. All I ask is that you listen to my last warning”, he started, putting his words carefully since they might be his last. “There’s a leech on the loose, and, apparently, he’s powerful enough that he might even be a threat to Reid. It’s likely he’s infected with the same shit that caused this bloody leech epidemic and I’m also pretty sure he’s somehow involved with this Daniel Warner Tom had asked me about last time we spoke. I don’t know how exactly they’re related, though, they could be even the same person for all we found out. I’ve still got a nose for machinations, however, and I tell you, this reeks of something vile”, he went on, before going quiet and waiting. Waiting for the end to come. He had been going through his options of escape during the last few minutes, but there were practically none. None he wished to go for, at least.

“That is all? You’re just going to let us execute you with no fight at all?”, a female voice enquired after a moment of tense silence.

_Esther_ _. I wonder if Tom even wrote that letter himself or if she just faked his handwriting_ , Geoffrey thought while turning around to the black-haired woman who was standing diagonally behind him. “Well, I have some crude plans for a sudden exit, but I doubt they’ll work since anything even remotely promising would include hurting one of you and that’s not an option. So yes, it’ll probably result in that”. He smirked sadly. “Actually, I’m wondering why you haven’t shot me already”, he went on.

The woman rubbed her chin at that, obviously lost in thought. “That vampire you just talked about – what do you know of him?”, she finally enquired.

“Not much, I’m afraid”, Geoffrey replied, shrugging, before repeating everything Julia had told him about her investigation with Reid and also about the attack at the hospital, warning them of the progeny Chadana had created.

“Not much? I would call that quite something, even though I have an even harder time to trust some leech that created your new friend than I have with trusting anything you’re saying. I think however, I understand now what Tom meant yesterday”, Esther stated as soon as he was done, moving slowly towards Robert afterwards.

The ekon could hear them repeating the conversation they just had in hushed voices. _Probably checking for any holes in the story I’d have created if meddling with one of their minds._ He carefully glanced around – maybe now as the captains were distracted… But no. All of the guards in sight were still on high alert. _Of course they are, we’ve trained them better than that._ There was no point denying it, he was right fucked. But, much to his surprise, he was still breathing. Finally, the conversation between Esther and Robert was finished. With a small sigh, the wiry women relaxed a little bit, letting the crossbow she had been holding ready point to the ground and turned back to Geoffrey.

“You are mistaken”, she stated calmly, while Robert began moving towards the ekon’s back. He hadn’t relaxed in the slightest, his gun still being aimed at Geoffrey, as the ekon noticed. “We’re not here to end you – not necessarily, at least”, Esther went on.

Geoffrey arched an eyebrow. “I must have misheard, for there is no reason not to end me from your quarters. I’m a leech now and this is a perfect opportunity, or has my pretty face made you forget that fact? Not to mention that you obviously seem to believe I fecking charmed my best friend”, he retorted doubtfully.

“True. But it is also fact that things kept on going to shit ever since Angus had been turned –“, Esther replied, only to be interrupted by Geoffrey.

“Wait, what!? Angus has been _turned!?_ When? How? And by whom?”

The woman cocked her head. “Thomas didn’t tell you, then?”, she enquired with an enigmatic smile.

The ekon shook his head. “Hell, no. He only mentioned that he’d died but refused to give me any details – what happened?”, he enquired.

Esther nodded thoughtfully, before replying in a rush. “Just before Tom returned with the bad news of your turning, Angus stormed into the headquarters, being even tetchier as usual. I was in the infirmary to visit one of my men and heard him shouting at one of the sergeants before he also went into the infirmary, starting a heated discussion with Kirk right after barging into the room. I didn’t really get what they were talking about since I didn’t pay attention to them, but shortly after a patrol came in, having a wounded with them who was bleeding badly. That was the moment hell broke loose – Angus suddenly stiffened, turned around and before anyone of us could even blink, he went for the poor man’s throat. All of us who were armed shot at him, of course, but he was fast, and more violent than any newborn I’ve ever seen before. Took some time before I finally managed to put him down with a bullet to his heart, and he had caused several casualties by then already”.

Geoffrey bowed his head at that. “That’s… bad news. I guess that explains the blood stains I found – did you find out who had turned him?”, he enquired after a moment.

The woman scoffed quietly. “If you think _that’s_ already bad news, then you haven’t heard the best of it, yet. Right after that, more and more of the patrols kept on vanishing, even ones that had been sent into relatively quiet parts of the city. Didn’t take long before some survivors came back, however, reporting that they had been attacked by several ekons at once. All of those survivors claimed not to have ingested any leech blood, but only one night after, the first had been turned and started attacking anyone in their surroundings, being as unusually violent as Angus had been. We thought at first they had simply lied to save themselves, but this has been becoming a more and more frequent pattern. And whilst we have seen to take measures stopping any potentially turning men causing any more harm, we’re still losing frightening numbers of men”.

Geoffrey’s eyes widened at that. “That can’t be… oh, that bloody bastard must’ve been right after all”, he replied with an exasperated groan.

“Whom do you mean?”, Esther enquired, frowning.

“Reid”, the ekon huffed. “But I guess that needs some more explanation. You remember everything we know ‘bout Ichors? Turns out those are created when leeches are infected by some leech disease – the fancy doctor called it ‘blood of hate’. According to him, Swansea created involuntarily an Ichor when he tried to heal the flu by treating Harriet Jones with leech blood of an ‘healthy carrier’, how Reid called it. However, apparently not all leeches infected are Ichors, most of them are just violent as hell, even more than usual leeches. And Reid told us the ‘healthy carrier’ had not become infected by consuming tainted blood, but by being bitten. He also said something about ‘possible confounding factors’ and an ‘insufficient sample size’, whatever that’s supposed to mean, but if that theory of him is true, this could explain why so many of the boys have been turning…”, Geoffrey explained.

“An’ since _when_ do you trust that leech doctor?”, Robert sneered sceptically from behind.

“I wouldn’t call it ‘trust’”, Geoffrey replied, turning around to the captain. “I’d call it more a lack of distrust, if anything. And as far as I can tell his wish to stop this bloody epidemic is genuine”, he went on, shrugging.

Robert scoffed at that. “Yeah, an’ I’m the king of England. Come on, Geoffrey, you really wan’ us to believe Swansea created that shit _involuntarily_ by treatin’ someone with somethin’ called ‘blood of hate’?”.

The ekon sighed wearily. “Discuss that with Reid, not with me. His story fits to everything I’ve found, believe it or not, so I’m only filling you in with everything I know. And as I’ve told you before, I’m pretty sure there’s another infected leech on the loose right now – wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the cause of this shit”. The bald captain twisted his face to a sneer, but before he could reply, Esther intervened.

“Enough of this. We can discuss that later on, can’t we? At least _I’d_ prefer not having a vampire listening during that conversation”.

“You still didn’t tell me why you’re not killing me on the spot”, Geoffrey stated, turning back to her.

The woman nodded, her face serious. “We need you to hunt down whoever is behind this”, she said curtly.

“You can’t be serious!”, Geoffrey exclaimed, taken aback. Sure, he had reckoned they needed _something_ from him, but he had thought it was information and not him to go hunting for them. “Priwen never relied on _leeches_ to achieve its goals! It’s against everything we stand for, we do not negotiate with leeches and we certainly don’t bloody _work_ with them! I admit that the situation must be pretty bad, but there must be other means to –”

“There aren’t, Geoffrey. More and more of the patrols are vanishing while our enemies remain elusive, almost as if they _know_ where and when to find our weak spots. Only completely unplanned ventures seem to be fairly save from those ambushes”, Esther interrupted him.

Geoffrey’s face went even more grim. “Sounds like you’ve got a snitch…” His eyes widened. “Wait. You think _Tom_ ’s the snitch? That _I_ am behind this!?”, he enquired, disbelievingly. Neither Esther nor Robert answered, but the expression on Esther’s face told Geoffrey more than enough. “I can’t believe it. I might be a leech, but _that’s_ just sick, Esther”.

“Is it now? And since when stopped a game being _sick_ a vampire from playing it, Geoffrey?”, the woman huffed. Then she sighed. “But you’re right, I don’t really believe you’re the culprit here, otherwise you’d be dead already. However, your… _affliction_ turns out to be an unexpected opportunity – you can’t be turned, and, frankly, no one will shed a tear if those leeches happen to end you. So, you’re just the perfect scout”, she went on.

The ekon shook his head disbelievingly. “I bet Carl’s turning in his grave right now”. He sighed deeply. “But then he’s probably already doing so since I didn’t shoot myself right after I found out what had become of me. And I won’t let you down. Do you have any idea who the snitch could be besides Tom or which leech is responsible for turning our men?”, he enquired.

“We sure ‘s hell ain’t gonna tell _you_ anythin’ ‘bout that snitch, _leech_. But we ‘ave managed to capture an’ interrogate one of the turned boys. Didn’t give us much to work on, most ‘f it was curses an’ nonsense, but he _did_ give us a name: Daniel Warner. Said even that he’d been with those Ascalon bastards”, Robert replied, having moved back into the ekon’s field of view.

Geoffrey narrowed his eyes. “So that’s the reason Thomas had been asking about him… These ambushes – are they localised to special areas?”, he enquired.

Esther shook her head. “No. They seemed to happen mostly in Southwark first, but soon patrols went ambushed or missing all over the city”.

Priwen’s former leader nodded thoughtfully. “I see. I’ll get onto it, see what we can find out”, he promised.

“’We?’”, Robert enquired sharply.

“Aye. We. Julia _is_ already hunting Warner since she has a score to settle with Ascalon, so I won’t be able to leave her out of it”. The ekon smirked. “Well, actually I doubt she’d refuse to stay clear of any leech hunt. And, to be honest, I don’t really want to try stopping her, it’s nice to have someone watching your back”.

Esther raised her brows at that. “And you are sure Leigh isn’t part of the problem?”, she asked sceptically.

“Aye. She would’ve made a damn fine guard if she hadn’t been turned. I trust her”, Geoffrey answered, before pausing and adding with a sad smile “Well, as far as I can trust _any_ leech, at least. We _are_ monsters, after all”.

Esther nodded slowly, her eyes narrowed. “I guess we can’t stop you from collaborating with other vampires if we want your help. Very well, then – or do you have any objections, Robert?”, she replied, turning her gaze towards the other captain.

The bald man shook his head. “Nah. Don’t like it at all, but you know that”.

“Then I guess we’ll meet again in two nights. 6 pm, same place. We’ll accompany you outside, wouldn’t want to get the boys the wrong ideas, would we now?”, the woman concluded. Geoffrey nodded, and the three went to the door, an uneasy whisper breaking out between the men inside the building as soon as they went through it.

“I want my weapons back”, Geoffrey stated as soon as they stepped on the street, breaking the tense silence between them.

“Sanderson…”, Robert requested. The man from the patrol before nodded, having accompanied them outside alongside with the rest of the patrol, and handed sword and gun back to Geoffrey. The hunter nodded approvingly, before sheathing his sword and holstering the gun.

“See you around, then”, he said awkwardly, turning to his former captains.

“See you”, Esther replied quietly with sad gaze. Robert only nodded, eyeing the ekon carefully. With a deep sigh, Geoffrey turned his back to them and shadow-jumped on one of the roofs nearby. He didn’t look back. He couldn’t. _Time to get to the hideout,_ he thought while jumping over the roofs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's weekend again, so guess what? Right, Double-update. :) I'll upload the next chapter this evening.


	26. Chasing Shadows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little bit filler-ish I'm afraid, but I hope you'll find it enjoyable nevertheless. Maybe having a chapter to catch a breath isn't so bad anyway ^^.

With an annoyed huff Julia drew the needle through the fabric of her coat to close the last of its tears. Since Geoffrey had been absent from the hideout when she arrived, she had decided to patch her coat from the newest damages it had taken during her fight with Charlotte until he showed up. _Not that it makes a lot of difference, given the state it is in after all the fighting these last few weeks, it’s almost worse off than Geoffrey’s_ , Julia thought grimly. _I should really think of getting a new one to mingle with people – I could wear this one only for hunting or something._ She sighed. _But that costs a bunch of money and I’d better save as much as I can, right now._ Sure, the money Jonathan gave her for the blood samples was decent enough and she wasn’t having problems at the moment, but since the skal population was dropping and Julia refused to take money from him without delivering anything, it would be getting problematic in foreseeable future, even though she hadn’t high running expenses right now.

_Always knew this wasn’t a long-term solution. I need a job. But even if I find one where I can work only on night shifts, I don’t see how that fits to my hunting, especially with all that shit going on right now_ , she pondered, cursing silently as she almost jabbed herself with the needle. _Oh, how I HATE sewing!_ She was just playing different possibilities to get a more reliable money source through in her head as suddenly someone cleared his throat behind her. With a start, Julia dropped her coat to grab her crossbow that lay on the desk in front of her and turned around, only to see an amused looking Geoffrey. “Jeez, you startled me! You did that on purpose, didn’t you!?”, she exclaimed, relaxing and placing the crossbow back on the table.

“Ah, now that you’re the one who got startled, you’re sulking? And then I thought you hated sewing – had I known you like it so much that it absorbs you like that, I wouldn’t have disturbed you”, the man jested, the corners of his mouth twitching.

“Oh, how very _funny_ you are, Geoffrey. I think you failed at your occupational choice – you should’ve become a clown instead of a leech hunter”, Julia retorted, picking up her coat from the ground and huffing annoyed as she realised that the needle was missing, the thread hanging loosely where she had been stitching. “Where’ve you been, anyway? And don’t hand me that shit ‘bout catchin’ a Priwen guard to hand information over, that wouldn’t have taken so long”, she went on, shooting him a dark glance.

The hunter arched an eyebrow, his expression darkening. “And since when do I have to report to you?”, he replied sharply.

Julia sighed, now picking up the needle she saw glittering under the desk. “You don’t. I’m sorry. Didn’t mean it like that”. She glanced at him, running her hand over her face wearily. “’s just – we could’ve used your help, Jonathan and I”, she explained grimly.

His expression softened at that. “What happened?”, he enquired, sitting down on the chair in front of her. Taking a deep breath, Julia told him about everything that had transpired during the last few hours. “I see. These are bad news, indeed”, the hunter replied thoughtfully when she was done. He rubbed his chin. “But Reid doesn’t seem to be the only target of that beast. My boys were repeatedly ambushed by ekons during the last few nights, the survivors of those ambushes being turned without having consumed leech blood, all of those turned ones being unusually violent even for leeches. Apparently, it’s so bad the guard’s almost unable to operate. This was also the reason they went to Ascalon, seems like they found this Daniel Warner a member and as the only lead they have”, he stated.

“They were turned _without_ having consumed leech blood?”, Julia enquired with raised eyebrows. “You’re sure of that? But the only leeches capable of that _I_ know about would be…”

“Infected ones, aye. I see you get my drift. And I can’t believe that a probably infected leech targeting the doctor and the boys getting turned by infected beasts are a mere coincidence”, Geoffrey interrupted her.

The woman nodded, lost in thoughts. “He must have help, then. I can’t see a single leech pulling all these things like this – probably he’s turned much more than only Charlotte and this… Chadana, was it? Might be usin’ progeny as aid – possibly even the turned guards… wait”. She stopped, narrowing her eyes. “How, _exactly_ , did you get this information? I can’t see the guard tellin’ _you_ anything like that”, she enquired suspiciously.

The hunter shrugged, stating innocently “Esther and Robert told me”.

“And Esther and Robert are….?”, the other ekon enquired, waving her hand promptingly.

“Two of my former captains”, Geoffrey answered curtly.

Julia raised her eyebrows. “Uh-huh… And you just met those _randomly_ on the streets, I suppose?”

The hunter shook his head, sighing. “No. I didn’t. Remember the smell at Carl’s grave last night?”

The woman nodded. “Mint and garlic, yeah. Nothin’ you’d expect to smell at a cemetery”.

“Aye. The guard has been using this smell during the hunt for years now, as it can stop leeches from smelling anything else if used in the right amounts – useful if you want to ambush one. I reckoned they might be trying to use it as a signal to me, since that smell last night was too weak to really hide a scent beneath it, so I had a closer look at the grave. And I was right, since I found this there”, Geoffrey explained, handing the invitation over to her.

The woman’s face went grim as she read it, her heart sinking to her boots. _They could have killed him. He could be dead, and I wouldn’t even know about it,_ Julia thought, the horror of that idea catching her off-guard. “I assume you’re aware that this could’ve easily been a trap? Goin’ there was reckless”, she finally stated in a low, but firm voice.

The other ekon shrugged with a guilty grin. “Ah, I’d have found a way out if I had needed to. But I couldn’t just let them down, could I?”, he replied in a light tone.

Julia shook her head in exasperation, her temper rising at his carelessness. “You don’t really believe that, do you? _You_ of all persons should know best that Priwen’s damn good at huntin’ down leeches. Hell, you could’ve _died_ , Geoffrey!”, she replied, her voice rising at the end.

The hunter scoffed. “I _am_ already dead, Leigh. And I _won’t_ let my men down just because I’m fecking _afraid_ that my _leech_ hide gets some burn holes! Don’t _you_ dare telling me that _I_ am reckless, since _you_ are usually the one with the far more suicidal tendencies!”, Geoffrey spat back, his voice also having risen.

Julia flinched at that, averting her eyes, dreadful silence stretching between the two ekons. “You’re right. But next time you’re pullin’ suicidal stuff like this, at least _tell me_. I could _help_ you, you know! And even if not, it’d stop me from tearin’ the city apart while searching for you if it goes south and you vanish”, she finally gave in, looking back at him and not wanting to ponder too much about the hurt she felt of being left out by him like that. _Don’t be ridiculous – he’s right, he doesn’t have to report to you, after all, and you’d probably have done the same if in his shoes. I really should get my shit together_ , she scolded herself.

The hunter, oblivious about her thoughts, sighed but nodded his approval – she had a point, after all. “I guess I could do that. And I must admit, I didn’t really think about that last part”.

The huntress nodded, her anger fading as fast as it had surfaced. “Thanks. Now that’s resolved, back to the topic. Since your _captains_ told you ‘bout the problem – and I still can’t _believe_ they talked to you instead of simply tryin’ to kill you – it must be pretty damn awful. Or, it’s somehow a trap even if I don’t really see why they wouldn’t just set one up when you first met with them”.

The hunter nodded grimly. “Aye. Hell, Esther asked _me_ for help”, he replied, explaining everything to the other ekon.

“I’ve got to admit, her reasoning makes kinda sense – even if I certainly don’t agree that no one would shed a tear for you”, Julia replied, a crooked grin spreading over her face. “I mean, who’d take care that I’m not goin’ on a murderous rampage if you’re not here anymore – London should be thankful for your existence!”. _And he expects me to do the same if he’d go frenzied._ The very thought terrified her. _He wouldn’t. He’d put a bullet in his own head before he’d hurt innocent humans._ And this thought terrified her even more. The female ekon sobered, a deep sigh fleeing her lips. “But I guess that’s not the point. Whoever we’re fighting, he’s clearly up to something. I thought that beast targeting Jonathan was something personal since he seemed to know a lot ‘bout his beloved, but now…”

“You think he might be eliminating possible threats?”, the hunter enquired with narrowed eyes. The other ekon nodded grimly. “If that’s the case, we’d probably also better prepare ourselves, since we’re obviously also threats”, Geoffrey stated, ruffling through his hair.

“Or, even better, we find them first”, Julia replied. “Have you got any idea where to start?”, she enquired, taking out the map they had been using to tackle down possible hideouts of Ascalon members from one of the cupboards.

“I’ve thought about Southwark, where I took down those three leeches that were attacking my boys, for a start”, he stated, tapping at the respective point on the map.

“But we only encountered one other leech there – don’t you think we would’ve seen them if they were hiding there? Now that I think of it, why didn’t we see any of the attackers during our ventures? I mean, we met Priwen patrols more than once, but we only very rarely encountered any ekons…”, Julia answered thoughtfully.

“Aye, that’s what I’ve been thinking about during my way back, too. I’ve got some theories on that”, the hunter replied, going on as Julia looked at him enquiringly. “Since we were searching for infected skals, we have been focusing mostly on quarantine areas nearby”, he started, pointing on the respective places on the map. “This means, we have left out the parts of the districts that are faring better. Most leeches who are like those Ascalon bastards prefer to mingle with humans, however, so if the beasts we’re hunting for are more like these despite their infection…”

“… we wouldn’t have seen any of them since we weren’t in the right area”, Julia finished his sentence. The hunter nodded. “Makes sense – but wouldn’t we still have seen them when they attack Priwen’s patrols, at least occasionally?”, she enquired.

The hunter furrowed his brow. “Actually, we might have – you remember the ones we sensed only shortly, but who vanished as soon as we draw nearer?”

Julia frowned. “I do, and this _has_ occurred more than once during the last few nights – but why would they flee from us? I mean, even _if_ word about our ventures has gone around in immortal society, if they don’t know which leeches they’re sensing, why would they flee? And if they knew who we were, why didn’t they attack us if they’re tryin’ to eliminate threats?”

The other ekon merely shrugged. “Don’t know. Maybe they’re avoiding any other leeches entirely, or they want to set up a trap for us before risking an encounter? Even more interesting is _where_ they have been fleeing to, however. I think it’s quite possible they’re using the canals as a way to move through the city unseen, possibly even as a hideout. My men only venture there rarely, as they can become a death trap much too easily”.

Julia nodded thoughtfully. “Wouldn’t be the first ones to hide there…”, she muttered, lost in thoughts. “I’ve been down there, you know – those tunnels are a maze. Our chances to get lost instead of finding anything are immense”, she went on after a moment.

“That’s the reason I’d start _above_ the ground. We can still go down there if we don’t find anything. I was thinking of asking Esther for a map of the sewers, she has… _organised_ some from the city”, the hunter replied.

“ _Organised_ , huh?”, Julia remarked, arching an eyebrow, but not enquiring further. “That might not be necessary, however”, she went on. Geoffrey cocked his head, giving her a questioning look. “The… uh, _source_ that organised my first contact with Jonathan lives down there. I don’t really trust her, but from what Jonathan has told me and also from what I’ve gathered during our short conversation, _if_ there are infected leeches using the sewers, she’s most likely not happy about it. Chances are she’d help us tracking them down, I think”, the woman explained.

Geoffrey raised his eyebrows. “You know where to find her?”, he enquired.

Julia shook her head. “Not for sure, no. As I said, those tunnels are a maze and I’m not certain I’d find the way to her hideout again. Also, it’s quite possible she has moved her hideout after my visit. Our conversation wasn’t exactly… amicable – the main reason for the lack of violence was that neither of us was sure if she could take the other one down. I’m pretty sure Jonathan has contact to her, however, so we could ask him. ’s probably better if he talks with her anyway, since I’m not exactly sure how she’d react if I’d just show up in her territory again…”.

The hunter nodded thoughtfully. “I don’t like relying on a leech like that, but… we can still go and investigate by ourselves if she doesn’t provide us with any information, after all, and it _could_ save us time…”, he replied.

“So, it’s decided then”, Julia stated. They spent a few more minutes discussing the most promising areas to search and agreed on seeing Jonathan _after_ their hunt of this night since he’d be preoccupied with making the antidote and they had to go to Pembroke to watch over Clarence in the morning, anyway. They headed straight to Southwark afterwards, Julia having finished her sewing while they had been talking.

* * *

Their ventures in Southwark weren’t really successful, however. The streets were almost completely deserted, since most people were asleep at this time of the night and the number of infected skals had almost dropped to non-existence. Julia and the hunter spent a fair time surveying the inside of the houses with their vampiric senses for any signs of leech activity, but they were unlucky.

“I guess we’d better head to Pembroke – Jonathan’s gonna need some time to head back home after we explained everything, after all”, Julia finally stated quietly after a short look on her pocket watch.

Geoffrey nodded, his face frustrated. “Aye. Let’s just hope this source of yours proves helpful, searching the districts without proper lead will be like looking for a needle in haystack”, he predicted grimly.

The other ekon nodded, adding hopefully “You never know, maybe his lady friend can also be of any help – it’ll take some days, however, since we’ll have to wait for the mail”. Geoffrey only hummed his agreement, not liking the prospect to rely on the very leech that had more or less caused the epidemic, even if inadvertently. They spent the rest of the way mostly with discussing the best starting point for a search during the next night in case Julia’s acquaintance wouldn’t provide them with a new lead.

“Seems like the doctor leech is already waiting for us”, the hunter commented, seeing the man’s figure pacing in his office.

“I doubt that since we are early, I told him we’ll be showin’ up just before sunrise. I’d rather assume he’s worried ‘bout the recent developments and is doing some thinking”, Julia replied with a frown, jumping on the small balcony in front of Jonathan’s room in the meantime and finishing her sentence with a sharp knock at the man’s door. The form inside stopped pacing at that, looking up, before heading towards the balcony. “Jonathan. Did you make the antidote?”, Julia enquired as soon as the doctor opened the door, stepping inside the room, the hunter following at her heels.

“Yes”, Jonathan replied, nodding with a worried face.

“Good. It seems that the situation is even worse than we had anticipated”, the woman replied, before explaining Priwen’s problems to him.

“Since we haven’t encountered many ekons on the streets lately and there’ve to be many around to threaten Priwen like this, Geoffrey and I were wondering if they might be usin’ the canals to move unseen, or maybe even as a hideout. I thought you could try to talk with our mutual acquaintance if she knows anything”, Julia finished her explanations.

The doctor nodded thoughtfully, the worry being evident in his features. “I’ll talk to her right away – if this is true, they’ll be in dire need of help, they’re not protected against the blood of hate and they have already suffered a lot by the hands of Harriet Jones”, he replied, hurriedly starting to gather his things.

“They!?”, the hunter intercepted, glancing suspiciously at Julia and the doctor. “You never mentioned more than one”, he continued, his eyes narrowed.

The woman sighed. “I… Well, to be honest, there’re several ghouls hiding down there. But since I’ve promised not to hurt them ‘s long as they’re not causin’ any trouble I thought it easier to neglect mentioning that”, she explained self-consciously, seemingly finding the floor of much interest all of a sudden.

“You can’t be seriously trusting a leech’s word on something like that – I would’ve thought you’re wiser than this, we should…”, Geoffrey huffed angrily, only to be interrupted by Jonathan.

“Stop it, McCullum. I know the sewer skals and have seen how they live – all they want is a peaceful existence. I’d give them the shirt of my back and hunting them down would be nothing but cold-blooded murder. I certainly won’t have any of you doing that. Not that you’d find them if they don’t want you to, anyway, they have managed to evade Ascalon for decades, after all”, he stated firmly.

The hunter scoffed at that. “Why am I not surprised about you protecting those beasts – your intentions may be good, Reid, but you have to open your eyes to the truth. You are protecting monsters”, he replied sternly.

The doctor shook his head wearily. “No, McCullum. I’m protecting innocent people who only want to lead a peaceful life and are struggling with their nature more than enough than it is. They’re hiding from everyone down there already, what do you want more? Leave them be. If they would want to hurt someone, they’d have to come outside, so there is no need to hunt them down there”. The hunter stared at him grimly, but Jonathan stared back with even more determination, and finally, after some tense moments, Geoffrey averted his eyes.

“Fine then. Have it your way but note that I don’t like this at all, and I _will_ hunt down any skal I find to be hurting people. But I must admit, recent nights proved to me not all leeches are the monsters I once thought them to be. Maybe this also holds true for these beasts”. He narrowed his eyes. “Rest assured that I _will_ investigate how much of a threat those ‘sewer skals’ exactly pose as soon as we’ve dealt with that other beast, however”, he continued.

The doctor nodded. “I wouldn’t expect it to be otherwise, and as long as you restrain yourself from harming the peaceful ones, I see no reason to stop you, McCullum. But since we’re finally done with this unnecessary discussion, I should really see Old Bridget…”, he replied, fumbling around in his coat’s pockets.

“The sun’s going to be up soon – I doubt you’ll make it to speak with her and move to your mansion afterwards in time, Jonathan”, Julia stated quietly just as the doctor succeeded to find the small bottles with the antidote he had been looking for.

“They’ve prepared a bed for me to stay in if I’ve ever get caught there during daylight hours, I’ll be fine”, he mumbled absent-mindedly, handing the bottles alongside with three syringes to each of the other ekons. “Here’s some of the antidote, please administer it with care. My resources to make more are limited, even if I still have some of the blood needed left. And as I said, you should also be able to administer it orally – it worked for my dear  Elisabeth this way, after all”.

Julia and the hunter took them with a nod, Julia’s eyes narrowed. “Jonathan…”, she started warningly.

“What is it, Julia?”, the man asked.

The woman pressed her lips together. “You know that very well. As pressing as these matters may be, you still have a funeral to organise. Old Bridget can wait ‘til the next evenin’. I’m sure she has already set up some precautions to protect her people if they’re threatened and I doubt she’ll be much of a help during daylight hours anyway, since we leeches aren’t exactly diurnal. You’ll be stuck down there unable to do anything if you go right now. And knowing you, I’m certain you will spend most of the time with brooding instead of sleepin’, so you can go home and use this time to take care of the things needed instead. It probably won’t make much of a difference if Geoffrey and I have to wait for possible information some hours more or less”.

Jonathan looked to the ground at that, mumbling something along the lines Avery was much more fitted to organise everything and that the safety of the city was more important than his personal matters. Julia snorted at that. “You’re not responsible for the well-being of all the city, Jonathan, and _Avery_ was not her son. Please don’t tell me you also reacted like this when your sister died”.

“I was the _very reason_ she died, how could I have come home and act like the grieving brother, that would’ve been more than hypocritic! Also, I had an epidemic to deal with, and now we have other problems I need to solve…”, the doctor started defending himself.

“Stop it, stop it right now, Jonathan!”, Julia interrupted him firmly, jabbing his chest with one of her fingers. “ _You_ , my dear sir, are just _runnin’ away_ from your grieve, burying yourself in work so you don’t have to think about it. Stop that. You’ll only regret it later, and you can’t tell me you’re not already regretting not having taken care of your family more after your sister died. Go. Home. Geoffrey and I will watch over Clarence in the meantime and we’ll catch up tomorrow evenin’”.

Jonathan looked back at her, his face full of grieve. “All right”, he finally agreed softly, his shoulders sagging.

“Good. And I expect you to tell me the date of her funeral next time we meet”, Julia replied sternly. The doctor only nodded, before heading to the door – he needed to talk to Dr Strickland before he left, after all.

“That was fun to watch, you should scold that doctor leech more often like this”, Geoffrey stated, having himself busied with examining the skeleton that was standing next to the door.

“I sincerely hope I don’t have to”, Julia stated, turning around to him and frowning as she saw him playing with the skeleton’s jaw. “ _What…_ exactly are you doin’?”, she enquired, taken aback.

“Come on, don’t tell me you never felt the urge to do something like that with the little bugger – and since we’re going to be trapped here for about an hour, we could at least have some fun”, the man replied, now trying to wave with the skeletons hand and pouting frustratedly when realising the arms were fixed in a way rendering his efforts almost impossible.

“You… you’re unbelievable”, Julia responded, shaking her head in amused exasperation. “I’d thought you’d be more worried about your men”, she continued.

“I am”, Geoffrey stated, glancing back at her with serious expression, still trying to wave the skeleton’s hand. “But brooding won’t help me right now, so I’m busying myself with other things”. He grinned guiltily. “Also, as much as the current situation worries me and as appalled as I am of the thought of Priwen collaborating with leeches, it feels damn good to be part of the hunt again. I am somewhat ashamed of it, but it almost makes me… happy”, he continued.

The woman sighed, even though she understood his point. “Still no reason to play with dead body remains, Geoffrey”, she stated dryly, before turning her attention to the sleeping figure of Clarence below.

“You’ll see things differently as soon as you’ve done more guard duty”, the hunter replied, shrugging and giving the skeleton hand a last tug, flinching as it suddenly broke with a crack, the old, rigid wire that had hold it in place giving in. “Oops…”, the man breathed, blinking with surprise as he held the now unattached hand and forearm.

“Now look what you’ve done – you just _couldn’t_ leave it alone, could you?”, Julia scolded him with a sigh, even if the corners of her mouth were twitching with amusement.

“Bah, I bet that fancy doctor leech has more than enough money to get it fixed”, Geoffrey huffed while blushing slightly after trying to reattach the broken arm unsuccessfully. “But I guess I _should_ focus, since Reid seems to be moving towards the hospital’s entrance, now”, he continued, carefully placing the skeleton arm onto the pillow of the doctor’s bed and sitting down next to it.  “So, where exactly is this Clarence?”, he enquired, his senses already on alert since before he had started to play with the skeleton.

“He’s below us, the one sleepin’ alone, his heart going like dum… dum… dum…”, Julia replied, the ‘dum’s exactly corresponding to Clarence’s heart rate.

“Ah. I think I’ve got him. I’d suggest one of us keeps a look on him while the other checks the surroundings. And we should better alternate in between, this kind of thing gets boring very fast which _will_ lead to you getting inattentive”, the hunter suggested.

Julia nodded in reply, sitting down next to him. “Alright. I’ll start with the surroundings then”. The next minutes went by quietly, until Julia finally started a conversation again. “You know, I’ve wondered… Priwen has been fighting all those infected ghouls for weeks now, so why is the fact of guards bein’ turned by only a bite such an issue all of the sudden? I mean, it must have happened before with all those infected beasts around, hasn’t it?”, she enquired.

The hunter nodded quietly, a frown on his face. “It was, in the beginning, even though Priwen normally burns all corpses from the fallen, regardless the circumstances of death. But some always manage to escape that, and it was actually one of the reasons I came to the conclusion an ichor must behind everything”, he started explaining, spinning his head to take in another part of the surroundings since he and Julia had alternated just before. “But we had managed to resolve this issue mostly by wearing thick layered clothes and treating wounds immediately with holy water and the brew of lady’s mantle and cistus – an old recipe Angus had found in one of the books Kendall Stone took with him when parting from the brotherhood. Also, if one got infected, it usually took days for him to turn, and he would turn into a skal which are much easier to tell apart from a living human with a single glance. But from everything Esther told me, they turn within a single day now, and they’re turned into ekons. I also can’t believe they wouldn’t treat biting wounds immediately after an attack, so I am afraid the bite of those infected ekons might be more potent than the ones of those skals”, he went on. The woman nodded thoughtfully, contemplating on the new information.

* * *

They spent the remaining time until sunrise mostly in silence, only sometimes talking in low voices to avoid drawing unwanted attention to the supposedly empty office. Finally, just before sunrise, they made their way back to the hideout, moving into the canals leading to the broken cellar wall of the house just before the early morning sun could hit them. “That was awfully close”, Julia hissed on their way through the tunnels, shivering nervously.

“That was the intention, wasn’t it? But we would’ve found a way in here by sticking to the shadows, don’t you worry”, Geoffrey replied, seeing her pale face and shivering and suspecting it was caused by the all to fresh memory of burning alive. He wished he could do more to comfort her, but he suspected she would only brush it off, so he kept his distance.

The woman only nodded at his statement, obviously uncomfortable. “I know”, she stated curtly. “Pity those tunnels have no connection to the main parts that’s big enough for us to move through it, we could’ve at least searched the closest parts otherwise”, she mumbled – Geoffrey had picked the locks of the wrought iron doors they had found down in the canals connected to their hideout just after he had moved in, but each of them had led to a dead end.

“Maybe, but then this would also mean our hideout’s vulnerable against any leech coming from down there”, the hunter replied.

Julia sighed. “I guess you’re right and the damned risin’ sun makes me tired anyway. Don’t know how Jonathan’s managing to stay up during the day habitually”, she responded with furrowed brow.

“I guess it’s because he’s a doctor, must be used to crazy shifts and a general lack of sleep”, Geoffrey said with a shrug. “Also, not everyone’s falling asleep when tired as easily as you do, Julia”, he went on, a small grin tugging the corners of his mouth.

“Pshaw! You’re only envious”, the woman replied with a pout, ignoring his low chuckle. _He’s a little hyper the last few hours – bet he’s worried like shit and trying to bite it back_ , she pondered as they finally arrived at the hideout, the two of them going to bed immediately since they would need to rise early in order to head back to Pembroke in time.


	27. Old Bridget

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is again a little bit calmer, use it to take a last breath before shit starts to go down again. Also, it's weekend, so there will be another upload this evening :)

Jonathan closed the door of his office behind him, locking it carefully since he wanted to avoid any of the staff coming into his room and wondering about his visitors. He moved hastily to the third floor of the hospital after that, avoiding any encounters with his colleagues and heading towards Dr Strickland’s figure he could make out in the laboratory.

“Ah, Dr Reid – I just wanted to go and see you”, his young colleague stated with serious face as the ekon stepped into the room. “I’m afraid your suspicion regarding the arsenic was correct – this is what I found when testing the blood. I’d rather wait for the urine sample before informing the police to confirm this result, but…”, he went on, showing the older man a small white porcelain piece with a black smudge.

Jonathan sighed at that and nodded gravely. “It’s true, then. Thank you for your work, Thoreau, you have no idea what this means to me. And I agree with you regarding the urine sample, since the officers will likely want every proof they can get. But keep something from the urine, in case they want to perform a test by themselves”.

The young doctor nodded eagerly, placing the porcelain piece carefully into a box next to a small flask containing a modicum of a white powder. “No need to thank me, I am happy to help you with this – suspecting something like this all the time and being unable to do anything must have been terrible”, he stated compassionately.

The ekon clenched his jaw at that, glancing away. “It was”, he finally stated curtly, before continuing “I assume I don’t have to tell you, but please try to keep Clarence here until the police is informed, or, if possible, until they searched the house. We need to remove him from exposure”.

“Of course – his leg needs more care, anyway”, Dr Strickland stated, closing the box and placing it into one of the cupboards.

“Thank you. I am afraid I’ll have to leave now, since I have… a family issue to sort out. I… I’m not sure if I’ll make it on time for my shift tomorrow, if you could tell Dr Ackroyd in case he asks…”, Jonathan replied, feeling grieve and guilt almost swallowing him again.

His colleague’s face softened with worry as looked back at him, answering “I will. Take care of yourself, and I sincerely hope everything sorts out”. The ekon only nodded, not trusting his voice, before turning around, striding down the hall and heading back to his mansion where his dead mother and a distraught butler where waiting.

* * *

Jonathan woke up about an hour before sunset, his short slumber disturbed by menacing dreams filled with Elisabeth pushed into a fire by an ekon with slit pupils, all the while Mary and Charlotte standing by and watching silently, both very pale and with sad eyes. With an exasperated groan, he got up, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to sleep after this anyway. Also, he could do with a shower, a luxury Mary had once insisted to be installed. As he made his way to the bathroom, grateful that the curtains were still closed after the busy morning, he met the butler in the corridor.

“Sir Jonathan, up already? You can’t have gotten much sleep”, the man stated with worried face.

The doctor shook his head, suppressing a yawn. The sun still being up certainly didn’t help his exhaustion. “I haven’t. But I woke up early and since I’ll have to head out at sundown, I assumed I could do with a shower. But have you managed to organise the obituary?”.

His butler nodded gravely. “I have, even though I am afraid it will be only very small with all the deaths due to the epidemic… I am terribly sorry to have left you alone with these officers, but the newspaper’s office would have been closed if I had gone later…”

“There is no need to apologize, Avery. I’m grateful for your help and I wouldn’t know how to manage without you”, Jonathan stated softly, managing not to grimace at the thought of the intensive interrogation he had gone through some hours ago. He still wasn’t sure if he was especially lucky or unlucky that detective inspector Albright of all people was investigating his mother’s case, since the man was on one hand suspicious of Jonathan’s intentions since the very first time they met, but on the other hand Jonathan trusted him to be thorough in his investigations and not to make any accusations without proper proof given the history of the man. Still, the officers showing up just after Avery’s return from the vicar organising Emelyne to be buried right next to Mary’s little son had led him to get even less sleep since they were understandably suspicious after a second member of his family had died by street violence. _I sincerely hope they aren’t seriously suspecting me. But then I assume I can worry about these things after dealing with our newest threat_ , he pondered when his thoughts were interrupted by Avery.

“There is no need to thank me, Mr Jonathan. But may I ask where you are going? I am sure you could take some days off from work – or is this about Mr Crossley again?”.

The doctor shook his head. “No, Avery. Under normal circumstances, I’d agree with you, but with this epidemic – I can’t just stay at home while people are dying, and Pembroke needs every single staff member! I have to go, I am sorry. Regarding Clarence… I assume you’ll hear what that was about very soon. I’d just ask you to keep my involvement for you, however, there is no need to fuel the gossip that surely will form”, he stated, noticing the confusion on his butler’s face. He went in no further detail, nevertheless, but headed finally to the bathroom, yawning as he started to heat the boiler.

_I really need to sleep more_ , he pondered, before relaxing under the warm water. But then there wasn’t much he could do about it, he had so much to do. His relaxation didn’t hold for long, however, since he needed to move out shortly after. _There’s an entrance to the sewer nearby I could use. But then if there really are infected ekons down there, they might have moved or locked up their hideout. No, I’ll better go to Sean’s shelter – he might know something, after all, and he’ll certainly know if the sewer skals moved. Also, it’d be good if I bring some medical supplies anyway, since I couldn’t visit it the last few nights…_, he thought, pocketing some of the drugs he always kept in his sleeping room.

* * *

The way to Sean’s shelter was peaceful, even though slower than Jonathan would have liked. The epidemic hadn’t broken yet, but despite Pembroke still being bursting at the seams with patients, it had gotten better the last few weeks and people were more often going outside again. Which meant Jonathan ran into one of his old acquaintances from before the war more than once, having to have some small talk and promising to visit as soon as the epidemic was over. _Never thought to be that happy to be heading to the docks – at least most people don’t know me there_ , he thought wearily. Talking with people who knew him before his turning still felt… off, at best times, Jonathan feeling somewhat detached every time he had contact to his life from before. He wasn’t sure if it was the war or his change that had brought this feeling, but it was definitely there. _Another problem I can worry about later on_ , he pondered, nodding towards Ichabod Throgmorton as a greeting as he made his way through the gate towards the former factory hall.

“Welcome Dr Reid – it has been a while since your last visit, I hope you are well?”, Sean greeted the doctor as soon as he stepped inside the building, a welcoming smile gracing his features.

“I… could be better, actually. But this is not the reason I am here – I need to talk to Old Bridget, and urgently”, Jonathan replied, forcing himself to a form short smile before his features dropped again.

The skal nodded, studying the ekon’s weary features with a worried gaze. “So, word has finally gotten to the streets”, he murmured, gesticulating the other man to follow him. “It is good you’re using this access, they have been forced to lock themselves in for almost a week now, and the canals are more than dangerous to venture, even for an ekon like you are”, he continued, pushing the cupboard hiding the secret entrance aside.

“They have locked themselves in? So, there _are_ dangerous immortals haunting the canals?”, Jonathan replied.

Sean inclined his head, his expression serious. “Aye – I do not know about the exact situation, but Old Bridget warned me to not venture in any of the canals besides the one leading to the hideout. The situation must be grave indeed”.

The doctor furrowed his brow at that. “You said they’ve locked themselves up for about a week? Why haven’t they told me? I could have helped!”

The skal shook his head with irritated face, stating “I thank you for your most kind offer, but we are more than able to provide for ourselves”.

_Their pride has stopped them from calling out for help, then_ , Jonathan thought with a quiet sigh. “And I am not trying to deny that, Sean. But you and your flock do not have to burden yourselves with all threats alone – I am happy to help. Not to mention that if my suspicions are true, solving your problems is not only in your and my best interest, but also the city’s”.

The other man frowned at that, considering. “Well, you are here now, so there is no need to worry ourselves with what could have been. Maybe the Lord has guided your path and led you here”, he finally stated as he started to walk down the stairs into the cellar with the connection to the sewers. “I will accompany you, this time, since I worry they might be getting anxious if a single ekon enters their domain right now”, he explained, carefully closing the hidden door as soon as the doctor had stepped through it.

Jonathan nodded silently, his worry increasing with every word Sean said. _I hope I’m not already too late_ , he pondered, hesitating shortly in his steps as he noted the absence of corpses Sean usually provided for the Sewer skals.

_“_ They have moved them further down in order to draw no attention towards their hideout in case any of the ekons stalking the sewers happens to find my shelter”, Sean stated softly as the two of them headed further down.

_In case they happen to find Sean – which would probably mean his end…_ , Jonathan thought, his chest tightening, even more so when he noticed the new lock at the Sewer’s entrance. “Did you have any trouble at the shelter, Sean?”, he enquired after a moment of silence, feeling relieved as the other man shook his head.

“No, nothing remarkable at least. I did not even notice any hunters on the streets – apart from Mr Throgmorton, of course. He was very active during the last few nights indeed”.

“This is good to hear, even if I am afraid the reason for the absence of hunters is an unlucky one”, the ekon stated, pausing as they rounded the last corner before the hideout, taking in his surroundings. He could sense several skals in front of them, hushed conversations being interrupted as soon as they sensed his presence. _They seem to be even more nervous than the last time_ , he realised.

“Sean, and Dr Reid – this is most unexpected, even if I am more than happy to see you”, Old Bridget greeted them, pulling the doctor from his thoughts.

“It is also good to see you, Old Bridget”, he replied with a sad smile.

“So, what brings you here in these trying times?”, the old skal enquired, inviting the two men into the cavern where the sewer skals resided.

“Dr Reid wanted to see you, and I thought it was wise to accompany him, considering the situation”, Sean explained.

“This is very considerate of you, Sean, and I thank you, and also for the… nourishment you provided us with, we would have descended into chaos these last few nights without you”, the woman stated, giving the Sad Saint a grateful smile.

“It is no trouble, really”, Sean mumbled, clearly uncomfortable. “I guess I will head upstairs again, since you all know now it’s only Dr Reid visiting…”, he continued.

“Of course. Be safe”, Old Bridget replied kindly.

“Ah, wait a minute, Sean”, the doctor stopped him. “I have brought some medical supplies, if you could gather the sick before I return, I could hand them out later…”, he went on as the young skal turned around.

“Of course, Dr Reid – this is most generous of you”, the other man replied with a weak smile.

Jonathan only shrugged. “I actually wanted to bring some sooner, but I was very busy during the last few nights, and I also still didn’t feel comfortable to bring Julia along, even if she is much more amicable now…”, he apologized sheepishly.

“There is no need to apologize Dr Reid, you were of great help already and I am grateful for what you have given to my flock and me. But I need to go – I will see every diseased in the shelter comes to see you. May the Lord be with you”, Sean said, before turning around and leaving for good.

“You are very generous – I have not seen many ekons who would give to a skal what you gave him and wanting nothing in return”, Old Bridget stated, gesticulating the ekon to follow her as she made her way towards the small room they had still prepared for Jonathan’s visits.

“He is a kind soul, and helping him doesn’t cost me much”, Jonathan replied softly.

The old skal glanced back at him with raised eyebrows. “Do not fool me, young ekon. It needs more than a single sip to give a skal satisfaction like this, even from blood as strong as yours. And you not only offered him once, but twice now, despite your unusual feeding habits”, she stated firmly, before she opened the door of his room and went through it.

The doctor didn’t answer but only shrugged uncomfortably, following her and sitting down on one of the chairs. “The other skals seem to be even more nervous than after Julia’s visit”, he said, deliberately changing the topic.

“They are, and with good reason. But I will not trouble you with our problems, since you surely have a reason for your visit”, Old Bridget replied.

“You should”, Jonathan retorted with a frown, continuing before she could answer. “No, please hear me out. I know you can take care of yourselves, and I am not trying to question your independence. Neither am I expecting anything in return if I help you. But you have helped me a great deal despite the dangers you had to face because of it, and I have not forgotten this – and I also think that it can be only of benefit to help each other out”. He sighed wearily. “In fact, I came down here because I need your help again, even if I suspect solving my problem might also solve yours”, he went on, explaining the events of the last few nights to the woman.

“Please accept my condolences for your loss, young ekon”, Old Bridget said after a moment of silence when he was done, her head bowed with sorrow and her eyes lost in thoughts. “And I think you may be right about the connection of our problems. I will tell you everything I know”, she went on, raising her head and locking her pale blue eyes with his. “It started about a week ago, when one of our community was attacked by an ekon, down here in the canals. He managed to flee, his knowledge of the place clearly being his saviour. We were all surprised by his encounter, however, since most ekons prefer to stay above the ground. Even Ascalon usually only sent vulkods to hunt us down here, though we _did_ fear them to be our pursuers, at first”. Her expression went dark. “But, sadly, this encounter was not the only one but only the first of many. More and more ekons appeared not far from our domain, all of them most hostile and attacking us on sight. Luckily, they only seldomly actively chased us save from the ones clad in Priwen garb”, she explained, the doctor’s eyes narrowing at her last sentence. “In the end, it got so bad we had no choice but to lock every entrance to our hall except the one leading to Sean’s shelter and to stop any ventures to the outside, since some of our community started to show behaviour similar to Harriet Jones after being attacked”, she finished, her eyes filled with sadness.

“So, they _are_ infected, then. May I ask what happened to the skals showing this behaviour?”, Jonathan stated, drawing in a sharp breath.

“We had to cast them out, we did not dare to take the risk, not after what happened with Harriet Jones”, the woman replied sadly.

The doctor nodded, his expression grave. “Do you know where exactly in the sewers the ekons are staying?”, he enquired.

The woman shook her head. “I am afraid not, at least not their present hiding places. We had heard sounds from some places before we closed ourselves in, and I can explain their whereabouts to you, but I do not know if these are still up to date and I also cannot tell you how many of them you will find there”.

“This will be of great help already”, the ekon stated gratefully.

Old Bridget nodded, before starting to explain, Jonathan writing down her explanations into his notebook so he wouldn’t forget them. “I must warn you, young ekon. You might be strong, but they are many and from what I have seen in their eyes most of them feed plenty. Be careful if you venture there”, she finished.

“I will take care of myself, and I am not planning to go there alone – Julia and McCullum will surely be eager to help, even if I will see to keep the hunter away from your domain. But I thank you for your concern”, Jonathan replied with a smile.

“Ah, yes, you mentioned the hunter being turned. An interesting development, but also a dangerous one. Be careful around him, young ekon, for he is said to be a most dangerous fanatic. But if you speak to the young huntress, could you pass her and her maker my gratitude for their actions and my condolences for what the Earl of Bristol did to her? Whilst I am not rejoicing my husband’s end despite everything he has done to me and my community, the end of Ascalon will make our lives easier”.

The doctor nodded at that with compassionate expression. “I will. But before I go…”, he started, fumbling in the pockets of his coats, “I would like to treat you with this”, he finished, having unearthed one of the small flasks with the antidote, going on with a grimace. “I would prefer to treat all of you, but I am afraid I do not have the necessary resources for that. Therefore, I will only be able to provide you and Sean with it”.

“What is this?”, the skal enquired with a frown, while the doctor produced a syringe and a canula, screwing them together.

“It is the antidote I used to protect myself when I fought Harriet Jones and the Morrigan. It will also protect you, if you allow me to apply it. It won’t take long, it’s a simple injection and as far as I am aware you do not have to fear any side-effects”, he explained.

The woman’s eyes widened. “This is very generous, Dr Reid, but I cannot accept…”

“Yes, you can”, the ekon interrupted her firmly. “Please, Old Bridget. You have helped me, and I want you to be as safe as possible. I trust you to be able to handle yourself if attacked, but you cannot protect yourself from the blood of hate. As I said, I would prefer it if I was able to provide all of the sewer skals with this, but you and Sean… this community might fall apart without you and Sean is not only the pillar of the people of his shelter, but also your best way for communication and supplies from the outside. I will not leave one of you unprotected if I can help it”. He gazed at her intensely. “So, will you allow me to?”, he finished.

“Tell me what this is made of, first”, she replied after a moment.

Jonathan nodded. “It is based on a recipe I found in a copy of William Marshal’s memoires. To make it short, it is a blend of King Arthur’s and William Marshal’s blood to prevent the infection, mixed with some insulin for better uptake and my own blood as carrier substance. I have not added sodium citrate, since vampire blood does not seem to coagulate like human blood does, despite our fast healing. Or maybe because of it”, he explained, only just stopping himself from going into further details. Despite everything Edgar had done, at times like this he missed the scientific discussions with him.

The woman drew in a sharp breath, but finally, she nodded. “I trust you to have the best intentions. But you should know, young ekon, that I will not bend my knee to anyone, even if given their blood”, she agreed.

“And I don’t expect you to. Please, could you free one of your arms? I need a free vein to apply it…”, Jonathan replied, taking a tourniquet out of his other pocket and applying it at the woman’s arm as soon as she had rolled up one of her sleeves. He could see her pupils dilate as he treated her with the antidote but decided to not comment on it. She was very quiet as he removed the needle, pressing a cotton ball on the wound and ordering her to hold it there until the bleeding stopped. “Thank you for your allowance”, he stated softly, while packing syringe and tourniquet away.

“I am the one who owes the gratitude”, the skal replied with still dilated pupils, watching him carefully.

The ekon only shrugged. “I am a doctor, after all. Preventing and treating diseases is my duty”, he stated simply, standing up. “I have to go now, I need to take care of Sean and the people of his shelter and then I need to return to Pembroke, share what I have learned”.

Old Bridget nodded, still holding the cotton ball in place. “I will accompany you to the entrance”, she replied, also getting up. They spent the short walk in awkward silence, the old skal bidding her goodbye as soon as they had reached the passageway to the canals leading to Sean’s shelter. The doctor raised his hand in reply, before vanishing into the canal. Sean had already gathered all people of the shelter who needed treatment, much to Jonathan’s relief only few being plagued with more serious diseases. It took him several minutes after that to convince Sean to accept the treatment with the antidote, the man only giving in as Jonathan pointed out the possible danger he could get to his flock if infected – the fact that he had already managed to make Sean accept his blood a second time after realising the man’s resurfaced hunger during his visit to assure the sewer skals of Julia’s amicability probably helped, too. As he was finally, done, Jonathan hurried back to Pembroke, finding Julia and Geoffrey already waiting for him in his office, Clarence being asleep in his room downstairs.

* * *

Geoffrey awoke with a start as a loud scream rang through the hideout he and Julia slept in. Within the blink of an eye, he grabbed the sword that was leaning against one of the laboratory benches beside his bed and began to hurry downstairs. He found Julia sitting in her bed with tousled hair, shivering violently and her face being even more pale than usual. Since he neither sensed anyone else in the room nor any injuries on her, the hunter relaxed slightly, enquiring “Everything okay with you?”.

The woman swallowed, still shivering, before replying in a silent voice “I… yes. Just… Just had a bad dream, sorry for waking you up”.

“It’s all right, we would’ve needed to get up soon anyway”, Geoffrey reassured her, sitting down on the chair next to the desk nearby, placing his sword onto his knees. “It was about Ascalon, wasn’t it?”, he asked softly, studying her face carefully. _I had anticipated that to happen – we can just hope those dreams will go away with time._ He had seen to many of his men where they didn’t, and he did not wish this happen to Julia.

The woman nodded hesitantly, wrapping herself tighter into her blanket. “’t was. Mixed with the fire that killed my family. Haven’t dreamt ‘bout that last part for a while now”, she stated, averting her eyes uncomfortably.

Geoffrey sighed quietly, retorting “Normally, I’d offer you a good glass of whiskey and an ear. But given our feeding habits… I could probably hunt you some rats in the canals, but I think that wouldn’t really be a replacement. I _can_ lend you an ear, though, if you want”.

The other ekon chuckled weakly at that. “No, rats definitely don’t top whiskey. Thank you, anyway, I appreciate the thought. But I guess we should get ready, we need to be out ‘s soon as the sun goes down”, she stated, ignoring his other offer, before unwrapping herself from the blanket and getting up. The hunter only nodded at that, getting up and leaving her to her business after stealing a last glance at her while she fumbled in the drawers with nothing on but her nightgown. He got himself out of his sleeping clothes and dressed up, still worrying about Julia. But then there wasn’t much he could do to help her, especially since she seemed to be intent to not talk about it.

It didn’t take them long to get ready, even though the huntress had obviously decided now was the best time to sort through her coat’s pockets, leaving a small mess on the table in her room since they had to leave before she was completely done. They went out through the wrought iron door of one of the sewer’s entrances as soon as the sun was low enough to not hurt them anymore, hurrying towards Pembroke. Julia sighed with relief when they arrived in Jonathan’s office, the last traces of the evening sun not hurting them but still pressing on their skin as an eminent threat.

“Seems like our person to guard is still here”, Geoffrey stated, sensing the man below them.

“Probably his leg needs a lil bit more fixing. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Jonathan made sure he doesn’t leave immediately”, Julia replied with a shrug, before making herself comfortable on the doctor’s bed, shoving the skeleton arm that was still lying on the pillow a little bit aside. Geoffrey gave the arm a guilty glance, before settling himself next to her. They spent the next time with quietly observing Clarence and the surroundings, sometimes breaking the silence with quiet conversations about day-to-day matters when Julia suddenly tensed. “Ah, Jonathan’s coming back”, she stated, relaxing as she recognised the familiar presence.

True enough, it didn’t take long before the doctor emerged the room through the balcony door, greeting them with a small smile and shrugging out of his coat. He turned back to them after hanging it into his locker, stopping in his movements as he registered the skeleton arm lying next to Julia. “What’s that? Why…”, he enquired, being interrupted by the woman.

“Ask Geoffrey that. Seriously, I don’t know why he decided to vandalise your room”, she stated sharply, even though a smug smile played around her lips.

“My… oh”, Jonathan replied, sighing as he realised where the arm actually belonged to. “You are aware that these models are expensive, and that the hospital’s administrator won’t be happy that he has to get it fixed?”, he enquired irritated, turning to the hunter, who had a guilty expression on his face.

“Sorry. But I didn’t do it on purpose and I’m sure a fancy doctor like you can afford paying for the repair – don’t know why you’ve got something like that next to your _bed_ in the first place”, the man grumbled. “Besides, don’t we have more important matters to discuss? Did your source in the sewers unearth anything useful?” he went on, obviously keen on changing the subject.

The doctor nodded at that, deciding to let the skeleton matter go – for now. “She did, indeed”, he replied, explaining what he had learned afterwards and handing them the notes he took.

“Well, well, that _does_ sound promising!”, Julia exclaimed, a smile spreading over her face.

“It does, even though we _will_ have to be careful – Old Bridget warned me that the ekons down there are plenty and feeding regularly and I will not disregard warnings of an immortal of her age”.

“Aren’t the first powerful leeches I’m hunting, Reid. Julia and I will manage”, the hunter retorted, smiling menacingly with anticipation.

“I actually thought Julia and I could go down there, Clarence needs protection and you…”, the doctor started, being interrupted by the Irishman.

“No, Reid. I won’t miss out on a hunt like that – also, if some of those ekons _are_ Priwen, I am the most likely person to get through to them if they are indeed infected. Also, you’re the one most apt to watch over your friend, since you’re working here and your presence won’t rise any suspicions. Not to mention he knows you better than us if one of us needs to talk to him”. Jonathan grimaced at that, having to admit that the hunter’s arguments were valid.

“We won’t try to hunt the sewer skals, don’t worry Jonathan. We have much more pressing matters now and they’ve locked themselves in anyway. Also, you should know me well enough to be aware that I don’t hunt innocents, ghouls or not”, Julia reassured him softly, correctly guessing his actual concern.

The doctor locked his eyes with her, searching her face, before he finally gave in. “All right. You have a point, after all”.

Julia smiled reassuringly, before narrowing her eyes. “That’s settled, then. You owe me a time and a date, I believe”, she demanded.

Jonathan frowned at that, before it clicked. “The funeral will be tomorrow at 7 pm, at Brompton cemetery”, he stated with grave voice, desperately not wanting to think about it.

“Brompton? Not Stonebridge?”, Julia enquired surprised.

The other ekon shook his head. “No. Mary was buried at Stonebridge because it was not allowed to move her body into another part of the city due to the epidemic. Most of my family is buried at Brompton, however, she’ll have a grave next to my sister’s son – the advantage of having the vicar as a former patient is to be able to arrange her a single grave despite all the deaths, I suppose”, he explained.

“I see”, Julia replied thoughtfully, shooting him a compassionate glance. “I’m afraid we’ll have to go now – you’ll manage?”, she asked apologetically.

The doctor gave her a sharp nod. “I need to do some work, anyway. The recent events have made finding a cure even more important”. The woman tilted her head, leaving with the hunter in tow.

“We need to make a short stop at the hideout, I’m afraid”, Julia stated apologetically as soon as they were down on the street in front of the hospital. “I… think I forgot the antidote on the table when cleaning out my coat”, she went on sheepishly as the hunter arched an enquiring eyebrow. Geoffrey sighed at that, but didn’t object, simply following her as she made her way towards Stonebridge cemetery. It didn’t take them long to get there, and Julia spotted the flasks on the desks immediately – freezing in her movements shortly after and beginning to search the desk frantically.

“What is it? The flasks are lying right there”, the hunter enquired, pointing towards the two small bottles.

“Aye, two ‘f them – but where’s the third? I’ve kept them all together, so why’s the third one missing?”, Julia hissed as a reply, stopping in her frantic movements when she noticed a small note being attached to one of the flasks. “That wasn’t there before”, she mumbled, picking the note up carefully.

> Dear Childe,
> 
> I took the freedom to take one of the flasks of the antidote. Since you seemed to be fully occupied by the conversation with my brother, I did not wish to interrupt – hence this note, so you won’t worry about its absence. You should be more careful where you leave things like this, these locks are not insuperable, especially for an immortal.
> 
> Yours sincerely,
> 
> Nimrod

“That bloody wanker. He could’ve just asked, but _no_ , of course he _has_ to break in and leave some smug message instead”, Julia grumbled, stuffing the remaining antidotes into her coat pockets furiously.

“Whom do you mean?”, Geoffrey enquired. Instead of an answer, the woman simply showed him the note, the hunter’s brows rising as he read it. “He does have a point, you know. You really should have at least hidden them if leaving them behind at all”, he stated with a smirk.

“Just shut your gob, will you? ’s not like I left them here on purpose”, the other ekon grumbled. “Come on, we have a hunt to do”, she continued, heading towards the door.

“Aye. Still… I wonder if he picked the lock or if he got the combination from your mind – pretty worrisome ability, don’t you think?”, Geoffrey replied, following her.

“Aye. It is. But ’s not like I could do anything about it, as much as I dislike it”, Julia agreed, locking the door firmly behind her. The other ekon nodded quietly, his brow furrowed in thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seems like it's full sun - the vampires are having troubles to sleep :P


	28. Hunters Becoming the Hunted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, time to head into the sewers, isn't it? 
> 
> Also, it's weekend, so I did a double update - if you haven't read "Old Bridget" yet, I'd suggest doing so first ;).

They followed Jonathan’s instructions to a small wrought iron door at the docks, feasting on some rats on their way. “Bah. ‘tis disgusting. I really wonder how Jonathan manages to rely solely on them”, Julia stated as she dropped the carcass of the last rat.

“Don’t know, but he obviously does, I have to give him that”, Geoffrey replied with a shrug, frowning as he continued. “You know, we could try out other animals when all that trouble with that crazed leech is over, I’d rather have an alternative in case our hunts go wrong. Ian was experimenting with that, at least in the beginning. Told me he found swine to be most appealing. I wouldn’t recommend birds though, at least not from his descriptions”.

Julia nodded thoughtfully, before replying with a smirk “Guess we could settle down as farmers. Leech farmers, imagine that… We’d be terrible at it”.

The hunter shot her a crooked grin at that, before sobering. “If we find some infected leeches – do you think you could sneak behind one of them with that shadow veil of yours and drain them completely? Their memories could give us most useful information, and I don’t want to rely on capturing and questioning one of them if we don’t happen on some of my boys and manage to get through to them”, he enquired.

The other ekon shrugged with a frown. “I suppose I could – wouldn’t be the first time, even not with ekons. But if they’re infected – it’ll knock me out for some time, rendering me vulnerable and useless in a fight if there are any other leeches around”, she replied thoughtfully.

“I could draw the attention of them on me if that’s the case and protect you with a blood shield in the meantime – you’ll not be out of it that long, anyway”, the hunter suggested.

“Guess so – we should rethink that plan if there are too many of them, however”, the woman agreed, opening the door to the sewers with a low creak. They were greeted by humid, foul air, the sound of water dripping and their own heartbeats all they could hear. “Lovely”, Julia uttered, sniffing at the stink.

“What did you expect – flowers and perfume?”, Geoffrey replied mockingly, taking the lead. The woman didn’t acknowledge this comment with a proper answer, but only grumbled something unintelligible. They didn’t walk long before they sensed the presence of five undead further down the canal, four ekons and one most probably a skal. Knowing that the beasts most certainly would be able to hear them by know, the two only glanced at each other, Geoffrey giving Julia an affirmative nod as she raised a questioning eyebrow, the woman drawing in her shadow veil and vanishing in response.

Julia moved silently next to the hunter, very aware of the small trickle of water under her feet. Whilst the shadow veil was able to hide the noises she made since it wasn’t really being invisible but tricking the minds of the people surrounding her, it was still easier to obtain if she moved quietly. Both ekons stopped as they rounded the corner, taking in the scene before them. Julia counted four ekons, all of them well fed and wearing clothes in a torn, dirty state. The last undead, the skal, was crouched against a wall behind the ekons with obvious fear in his features. _One of the sewer skals?_ , Julia wondered, hoping Geoffrey would restrain himself from attacking him if he didn’t attack first. All ekons turned around at the hunters’ approach, four pairs of bloodshot eyes fixing on Geoffrey.

“He’s not of our blood – should we kill him?”, one of them whispered.

“But he told us to flee if we encounter ones with other blood”, another one hissed.

“Who cares? He didn’t protect us from his other progeny, did he? Also, he’s already seen us, I say we end him. He’s full of blood and I want to dance to this wonderful tune”, the first one replied, bloodthirst in his eyes.

Julia had used the time while they were speaking to move silently behind them, not daring to breath as she squeezed herself between one of them and the wall, content on not touching them. She waited silently, wanting to time her attack when all of them were completely distracted. She didn’t have to wait long, since Geoffrey obviously got tired of listening to the leeches’ rambling, opening the fight by shooting his crossbow at one of them. Julia didn’t waste any time when the beasts lunged at him, the skal much to her surprise taking the lead. Supressing an instinctive growl, Julia launched herself on the back of one of the ekons, grabbing him tightly from behind and digging her fangs into his throat, drinking greedily. _Oh, I almost forgot how delightful this is_ , she thought as she drained the beast beneath her to the last drop, landing in a crouch as the body fell to the ground before the ekon’s memories flooded her.

_A simple childhood in a nice city house – not filthy rich, but enough to get by. A marriage with a woman he loved since he was 16, unbelievable joy as he held his newly born daughter in his arms, and, two years later, his son. Then, the war. Comrades dying in the trenches, blood and filth everywhere. Finally coming home, limping since he got shot in the knee and looking forward to finally see his family again, only to find his wife and son being killed by the flu, rendering his little daughter the last one alive of his family. Having too many drinks in the evenings that followed but trying to get himself together for his daughter’s sake. Being attacked on the way home, dying a painful death. Waking up again, feeling nothing but thirst and biting down gladly when something is offered. Terror as he realises the offer was his own daughter, wanting to attack and rip apart the stranger with the brown hair and snake pupils that had made the offer and greeted him as a son, but being stopped by the stranger’s command and a voice in his head. A terrible, terrible but yet beautiful voice, praising him for what he’d done to his daughter, telling him of murder and slaughter, singing to him. Trying to resist it but finding it too powerful. Others like him, of the same blood. The voice tells him they belong together, but he still feels the urge to fight, to tear apart limps and flesh, to feast on their blood. Then, one attacks him, he’s too weak to beat his assailant, flees. Dark streets, he doesn’t know where he is, gets almost caught by the sun. Finally, he finds his way into the canals. Hunger, so much hunger, only barely sated by rats and occasional mortals whenever he dares to go outside, the voice always singing in the back of his head. Meeting others of his blood down in the canals, outcasts like him. Again, they fight, but some are on his side, this time, forming an unsteady allegiance. Then, a stranger of alien blood approaches, starts a fight when he suddenly feels a sharp pain in his neck… **So, someone bested me for good in the end. Don’t you think this is a victory, you’ll just end like me at another time. I’m looking forward to see you on the other side, making you regret what you’ve done to me. Wonder if they’re waiting for me there, despite everything I did…**_

With a gasp, Julia got aware of her surroundings again, shaking off the memory of the singing voice with all force she could muster. It wasn’t as bad as it had been when she had drained her first frenzied skal, but it was still far from a pleasant experience. Before she could do anything else, a claw hit her from the side, sending her flying against the wall. With a pained hiss, Julia rolled aside, barely avoiding the leech that was clawing at her again. Cursing violently, she raised her hand, freezing the beast in its tracks, and unclasped the crossbow from her belt. Her opponent fell with a splash onto his face as she pierced his heart, blood pooling in the puddle of water below him. Satisfied, Julia turned around, already in the process of reloading her crossbow. She found Geoffrey being busy with the two other ekons, stumbling as the shadow explosion one of the ekons must have summoned hit him.

Geoffrey froze in in his tracks as he rounded the corner, seeing the four ekons standing in front of a skal that was crouched against a wall. _Wonder if that’s one of those ‘sewer skals’_ , he pondered, readying himself for the fight since none of the beasts seemed to be one of his boys. He waited a moment before he attacked to give Julia more time to sneak past them, but after a short while he got tired of the leeches’ discussion whether to attack him or not and started the fight by shooting a bolt at the nearest one – a dark-haired female with bloodshot eyes and slit pupils. The beast managed to dodge, however, the bolt only hitting her stomach instead of her heart.

Much to Geoffrey’s surprise, the beast he had hit wasn’t the first to attack, but the skal who had been crouching behind. It even almost managed to hit him as it shadow-jumped towards him with unexpected speed, claws already being extended. Without losing time, the hunter drew his sword, glancing at Julia who clang to the back of one of the ekons, draining him. After avoiding another claw strike by shadow stepping aside, Geoffrey rose a blood shield around her, feeling a claw tearing at his face directly after. With a furious growl, the hunter rose his sword against the ekon that had clawed him, retreating back into the tunnels. The skals and two of the ekons followed him, only the last ekon focusing on Julia who was crouching on the ground, head buried in her hands.

_Just hope she gets her shit together before the shield breaks_ , Geoffrey thought worriedly, cursing quietly in Irish as one of the beasts sent a blood spear towards him. He barely managed to dodge, the confined space impairing his movements. _But this impairment goes in both ways_ , he thought, sending two blood spears at his opponents by himself, piercing the skal’s heart and sending one of the ekons tumbling. The third beast, the one he had already hit with the crossbow, managed to dodge, however, and summoned writhing shadows at Geoffrey’s feet. He managed to avoid the worst of the explosion, but it still sent him stumbling. Much to his surprise, none of the beasts lunged at him, however.

A smile spread across his face as he realised this was Julia’s doing, her shadows chaining the feet of the two beasts. Giving her a grateful nod, Geoffrey shadow-stepped towards the nearest of the beasts, beheading it with his sword before turning to the last one. His last opponent was bleeding heavily from the bolt Geoffrey had shot at her as well as from another bolt in her back, her eyes showing pure panic when the hunter jumped towards her, baring his fangs and digging his teeth into her throat. Pure delight hit him as the ekon’s blood flooded his mouth, not enough to gain him access to any memories, but sufficient to sate his resurfaced thirst after the blood he had lost during the fight. With a content sigh, Geoffrey dropped the corpse to the ground, licking his lips and looking at Julia who was just in the process of retrieving one of her bolts from one of the corpses.

“That was a tough fight”, the woman stated, frowning as she fumbled at a new tear of her coat. “Bah – I sometimes wonder why I even bother fixing it”, she grumbled, moving to retrieve her other bolt.

“Because you love sewing? I had at least the impression you do”, Geoffrey jested, before enquiring “Did you get anything helpful from the beast’s memories?”

“’m not sure…”, Julia replied, handing him the bolt she had retrieved from the beast’s stomach. “He definitely _was_ infected, heard the same bloody voice all those feral skals do. He had some more sense left than them, however, his personality sometimes resurfacin’… And his maker seemed to be another leech than the one attacking Jonathan – he had brown hair and a posh West End accent, and Jonathan described the other beast as being black haired with a French accent. He woke up in some house, but the memory is too muddled to say where exactly this house was. Don’t think it was in the West End or the docks, though, and I think I would recognise the building if I saw it. There were other leeches like him there, and they were fightin’ each other, at least occasionally”, she went on, straightening herself up.

“Huh – well, that’s at least some lead. I’d still prefer if we’d know the exact whereabouts of this house”, Geoffrey replied, rubbing his chin.

“Me too”, Julia agreed, stepping beside him. “And I think I _do_ have a lead for finding out”, she went on, grinning.

“Is that so?”, the hunter enquired, arching an eyebrow.

The woman nodded. “You see, those were not the only leeches down here – apparently, several infected fled here, and they weren’t all on good terms. The beast remembered one group as especially vicious, its members bein’ clad in Priwen garb…”, she explained.

“You know where they are?”, Geoffrey enquired excitedly.

“Aye, I do, at least the rough whereabouts. And that leech knew these tunnels well enough for me to lead us there…”, she responded smugly.

The hunter grinned at that. “Lead the way, then”, he said, gesticulating towards the tunnels. “Do you know how many they are?”, Geoffrey enquired after a moment.

Julia cocked her head in thought, a loose strand of hair falling into her face when she did so. “I’m not sure”, she finally stated. “The beast I’ve drained knew of five, but then the last encounter he had was some time ago, and ’s always possible that he didn’t even meet the whole group”.

The hunter nodded thoughtfully. “Do you think you’d be able to hold your shadow veil long enough for me trying to talk to them?”, he asked.

“Probably – depends how long you’re talkin’ and also if I have to move – it’s much less exhausting if I don’t need to cover any breezes and noises movement causes. But what do we do if you _can’t_ get through to them?”, Julia replied.

“We end them”, Geoffrey answered with a deep sigh, shooting her a short glance.

Julia’s brows went up. “You’re sure ‘bout that? I mean, I’ve seen what your boys mean to you and we could try to cure them…”.

The hunter shook his head. “We could, and if we happen to manage capturing one, I’m more than happy to try. But I will not risk our lives for a reckless action of mercy, Julia, and we also don’t have enough from the antidote if there are more than five. I will try to do my best to make a peaceful conversation possible, but if it comes to _them_ or _us_ , I’ll choose us. Also, we might be forced to put them down even _if_ we cure them – they’re leeches after all”. He smiled sadly. “Wouldn’t be the first time one of my boys has to be ended after becoming turned – it’s an occupational hazard, I’m afraid”. The woman nodded sadly, the two of them resuming their walk in silence.

* * *

After several minutes, they sensed something to the side of them. “I sense seven, two seem to be skals”, Geoffrey breathed into Julia’s ear.

The woman nodded, whispering back “There should be a sideway after the next turn that leads to a small cavern with some maintenance stuff – I think they’re there. You’re ready?”

The hunter only nodded quietly, having already reloaded his crossbow. Placing their steps carefully, they made their way to said sidewalk, Julia raising her shadow veil just before they rounded the corner. Placing his steps with a little more force to make it easier for Julia to hide her own movements, Geoffrey approached the figures he could make out at the end of the tunnel, seven heads snapping towards him as soon as he drew nearer. He recognised two of them as sergeants, while three others were lower-ranking guards, one of them a rookie that had joined only some weeks ago. The remaining two – a skal and an ekon – he didn’t recognise, reckoning they either were rookies or lower ranks stationed in the countryside before the epidemic had started.

“I don’t want to attack you, I’m just here to…”, Geoffrey began with raised hands, stopping mid-sentence as one of the skals launched at him.

“Stop, that’s McCullum!”, the rookie shouted, grabbing the other skal at his arm before he could move. The first skal didn’t listen to him, however, but clawed fiercely at Geoffrey who only just avoided being hit with a hastily raised blood-shield.

“I don’t care, it’s a leech! Leeches must die!”, another of the ekons – one of the former sergeants – hissed, shadow-stepping towards their former leader but dropping unceremoniously to the ground as its heart was pierced by a bolt shot from behind.

That turned the other three ekons, who had been watching undecidedly, hostile. Two of them went for Julia who had appeared behind them when shooting her crossbow, whilst the third one went for Geoffrey.

“Stop it, we’re just here to talk!”, the hunter said through gritted teeth, his blood shield blocking the attack of the skal as well as the shadow figure the ekon had summoned. He struck with his sword against the skal while talking, but the beast parried the attack with its claws.

“Talk!? I don’t care what you have to say, traitor! You should’ve killed yourself as soon as you had realised what you’ve become!”, the ekon attacking him spat, raising a crossbow and shooting it at Geoffrey, who was hit in his right thigh since his blood shield had just broken under the attack of the skal. With a pained snarl, Geoffrey swung the sword for another attack, this time hitting the skal and sending it stumbling. Using his opponent’s momentary unbalance, Geoffrey raised his sword again, beheading the beast and side-stepping directly after to avoid the claw strike of the ekon. Without hesitating, Geoffrey raised his wrist with the attached crossbow, aiming at his opponent’s chest. Just as he released the bolt, the other ekon’s eyes widened, his expression going from hateful to recognising and… sad. Instead of dodging, the vampire widened his arms in an almost welcoming gesture, the bolt hitting right into his heart and killing him instantly.

Geoffrey stared at the corpse for a moment with pain and disbelieve. “I could’ve saved you, if you’d have stopped earlier…”, he muttered sadly, before gathering himself, ready to resume the fight if needed.

He could see another corpse further down in the tunnel, a bolt sticking out of its head – Julia’s handiwork. The rookie that had tried to stop the others before still hadn’t joined the fight but stood silently at one of the walls, his hand on the shoulder of the remaining skal, and his gaze switching between Geoffrey and the other remaining ekon, his expression torn between pain and fury. The other remaining ekon seemed to be trying to jump further down the tunnel, his movements suddenly being stopped by shadows chaining him. Geoffrey could make out Julia further down who raised her crossbow against the ekon with determined face.

“NO! DON’T!”, the rookie cried out, but too late. Julia’s bolt went loose, hitting her opponent in his heart.

“No! Abraham! You’ve killed him!”, the skal exclaimed, wriggling free from the last ekon’s grip and launching himself at Julia who was just in the process of reloading her crossbow.

“No, stop it, Theodor!”, the rookie bellowed, grabbing the skal who started to slash furiously at the rookie’s face before rising a gun at him. Geoffrey could see the two immortals struggle, both trying to get hold of the gun and shadow-jumped towards them to intervene, but before he could do anything a shot went loose, hitting the skal’s head.

“I’ve killed him…”, the rookie whispered disbelievingly, letting the skal’s corpse slide to the ground and raising his head to look at Geoffrey. “I’ve killed him! That’s your bloody fault! I ain’t ‘ave had to kill him if not for you!”, he exclaimed, scarlet tears streaming down his cheeks.

With a furious snarl, the young man jumped towards Geoffrey, not even caring about the gun he was still holding in his hand. Having anticipated his reaction, Geoffrey shadow-stepped behind him, jumping on his back and grabbing his arms to pin him against the ground. “Julia, the antidote!”, he huffed, struggling to keep the younger ekon down on the ground.

“Aye, Geoffrey”, Julia replied from behind, before shadow-jumping in front of him and the other ekon.

“Let me go, you ruddy vermin! I’ll rip you ‘nto pieces an’ feed on your heart!”, the rookie exclaimed, struggling against Geoffrey.

“Hush, that’s the infection talking”, Julia replied, unscrewing the lid of one of the flasks with the antidote she had unearthed from her coat. “Here, that should help you…”, she went on, grabbing the pinned down ekon by his hair to lift his head.

“I ain’t need your help, you bloody monster!”, the man spat, his open mouth giving Julia the opportunity to pour the content of the bottle into his throat. Before he could spit anything out, she firmly gripped his chin, closing his mouth, the now empty flask being dropped carelessly to the ground.

“Just swallow. You’ll hopefully feel better, then”, the woman stated firmly. The ekon shook his head, struggling desperately against his two captors, but finally giving in and gulping the liquid down as he couldn’t withstand its taste anymore. He didn’t stop struggling then however, his movements becoming even stronger after swallowing the antidote.

“Shouldn’t he stop now? Why isn’t it working?”, Geoffrey enquired worriedly, the effort of holding the rookie down becoming more and more straining.

“Don’t know – Jonathan said it _probably_ could also be administered orally, but he always did it per injection, maybe it only works this way… Or maybe it just needs some time? I think I should be able to freeze his blood again, though – then you could rest for a moment while we wait if it works or not. I’ll have to release his head to do that, however”, Julia replied.

“Do it”, Geoffrey answered curtly. The woman nodded, flinching away when the rookie snapped at her as soon as he released his mouth.

“Quite a biter, aren’t we?”, she mumbled, raising her hand to freeze his blood. With a relieved sigh, Geoffrey relaxed a little bit when the body beneath him went still, the frozen blood rendering the younger ekon unable to move.

“We could hold him both”, Julia suggested, already beginning to move.

“No”, Geoffrey stopped her, shaking his head. “If the oral administration didn’t work, we’ll might have to try an injection, and I’ll need you to do that since I am even more unable to perform this kind of thing than you are. We could try to get his arm free while he’s paralysed, however”.

“All right”, Julia responded. They had just managed to free the ekon’s arm of his jacket as he started to move again. At first, his struggles were almost strong enough to break Geoffrey’s grip on him, but after a moment, he stilled.

“’s quiet – the voice, it’s gotten quiet!” he exclaimed disbelievingly, his voice being somewhat muffled since he was facing to the ground.

“Which voice? A female?”, Julia enquired, moving around the two men and crouching down, carefully staying out of the young ekon’s reach.

“Yes – it ain’t been ever quiet before since I’ve been turned into a monster…”, the young man whined, shivering slightly.

“Will you attack us if we release you?” Geoffrey enquired.

“No – no, I… the voice said I should…”, the rookie replied, shaking more violently now.

“Alright… ’s alright. I think you can release him now, Geoffrey. I’ll keep my crossbow ready, however, just in case”, Julia said, taking a further step back and aiming her crossbow at the young ekon’s head. Cautiously, Geoffrey released the rookie and stood up. The younger ekon didn’t move at first, but finally he slowly raised himself into a crouch, his gaze first fixing on Julia who was still aiming her crossbow at him and then locking on Geoffrey.

“So, the others told the truth – you ‘ave gotten a monster, too”, he finally stated.

“Obviously”, Geoffrey stated dryly, cautiously watching the other man for any hostile movements while carefully shifting his weight to his unharmed leg – now, with the adrenaline of the fight gone, the bolt made his thigh throbbing painfully.

“The voice – why ‘as it stopped? It ‘ad never stopped before!”, the rookie enquired with furrowed brow.

“That’s the doing of the liquid Julia forced you to drink – the antidote Reid has created to fight the leech epidemic. It should have cured you of your symptoms”, Geoffrey explained, slowly relaxing a bit since the younger ekon seemed to be amicable.

“The cure ‘f the leech doctor? But I ain’t no skal!”, the young man exclaimed confused.

“The cure doesn’t only work on skals, it prevents infection with the blood of hate and is able to cure the symptoms of it in some cases. And whilst the blood of hate led to that ghoul epidemic, ekons can be infected with it as well. In fact, we think an infected ekon is behind several incidents in the city, includin’ the attacks on your lot. Geoffrey and I went down here to gather more information – you wouldn’t happen to know anything that could be of help?”, Julia replied with still mistrustful gaze.

“An’ who’re you?”, the rookie snapped back, looking at her with the same mistrust.

“Julia Leigh, at your service”, the woman replied with a cocky grin.

“Julia helped me after my… rebirth. She and Reid ensured I wouldn’t hurt a human when I woke up and I’ve hunted leeches with her for the last few weeks”, Geoffrey explained, since he had the feeling Julia’s introduction of herself wouldn’t be sufficient.

“You… you still hunt leeches?”, the rookie enquired, his gaze snapping back to Geoffrey.

“Aye, ‘f course we do. Do you really think something like becoming one myself could stop me from a good old hunt?”, the hunter replied with a mocking grin before sobering. “Also, didn’t your lot also still hunt them? It seemed like that to me”, he continued, cocking his head and examining his conversation partner curiously.

“We… I… we didn’t only hunt leeches. We tried to stay down ‘ere an’ not hurt anyone but…”, the rookie said awkwardly, averting his gaze.

His explanations were interrupted by a loud shriek nearby, however. “This conversation is absolutely lovely, but I think we’d better move to a saver location”, Julia hissed, eyeing their surroundings wearily.

“You’re right – as much as I’d love to eradicate all infected leeches down here, gaining more information has priority. I’m afraid I’ll need your help with this bloody bolt before we can leave these tunnels with a desirable speed, though”, Geoffrey agreed, also taking in his surroundings but not sensing any other undead except for Julia and the rookie. Not yet, at least.

“No! I can’t! What if… what if I ‘urt someone? I did last time I went out of the tunnels!”, the younger ekon exclaimed.

“Don’t you worry, Geoffrey and I will stop you if needed. Also, the leech I’ve drained before knew of an exit nearby and I think that’s nearby an abandoned house I’ve once used to sleep in. Not really a nice place, but it should do for our purposes and there shouldn’t be any humans nearby except in the surrounding buildings which we can’t access without invitation anyway”, Julia stated while walking towards Geoffrey.

“You’ve heard the lady”, the hunter said, letting himself slide down to the ground while Julia started to examine the bolt.

“All right, if you’re sure”, the rookie finally agreed, snatching the revolver that lay still on the ground where Geoffrey had held him down and getting up.

Julia scowled at the revolver but didn’t comment on it, turning her attention back to Geoffrey’s leg instead. “Pullin’ that thing out will hurt him like hell – as soon as you’ve holstered that bloody revolver you could come over here and hold Geoffrey down while I pull”, she ordered, shooting Geoffrey a compassionate and apologetic glance.

It did hurt like hell. But his leech healing would make sure it wouldn’t take long to heal, at least, and Geoffrey, who refused to let himself get slowed down more than absolutely necessary by the wound, was on his legs again within moments. He could see Julia giving him a disapproving glance at his speed, but she seemed to agree with his urgency to move and simply stated “Follow me, then”, before she started walking, having the two men in tow.

They happened onto three more infected ekons on their way out, all three not clad in Priwen garb and hostile, but they disposed of them easily, Julia and Geoffrey sating their thirst on them, Geoffrey’s wound closing fully as he did so.

* * *

“I’ll need to scout the area, make sure we are where I think we are – I still don’t know the streets here ‘s well as back home. You’ll manage in the meantime?”, Julia enquired as soon as they stepped out of the canals.

“I’m much more experienced in dealing with leeches than you are, Leigh. Stop mollycoddling me and bugger off”, Geoffrey huffed, always keeping an eye on the rookie.

Julia raised an eyebrow. “Ooh, did I hurt your pride? I’m sorry, you’re of course the best and most scary leech hunter ever existed, and I am dumb to think anyone could ever best you – I apologize”, she replied mockingly, before turning around and vanishing into the night.


	29. A Lead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a fair warning beforehand: this chapter has a part which is pretty... intense. You've been warned.

“You’re pretty comfortable ‘round each other”, the rookie stated after a moment.

Geoffrey shrugged. “Comes with hunting together, I guess, and with the views we share”, he explained, not wanting to go into further detail.

The other man gave him a sharp look. “’s she your maker?”, he enquired.

The hunter shook his head, somewhat annoyed by the prospect to have to explain this matter again. _Either Tom kept the information about Arthur’s blood a secret, which I doubt, or the boy was one of the first ones to be turned_, he pondered, before replying “No. She isn’t. I sure as hell wouldn’t be hanging around with her if she was. No, it was the King’s blood what turned me – turns out Arthur was a leech”.

“WHAT!? That can’t be! You sure!?”, the other man exclaimed, King Arthur being known as England’s protector against leeches even among the newest members of the guard since the faction was named after his shield.

“Aye, I am. Took a sniff at the blood and the smell is unmistakable – it also fits the research I did when I first found out”. Geoffrey took a sideway glance at the still startled man. “What’s your name, by the way? I remember you being one of the new recruits just before the bloody leech epidemic started, but I’m afraid I can’t recall your name…”, he enquired.

“Name’s Andrew Woodbead, sir – an’ no need to apologize, I’m surprised you remember me at all…”, Andrew replied, his gaze darting to the roof in front of them, where Julia had just appeared.

“I was right, and the house isn’t far from here – just follow me”, the woman called with a wave of her hand.

Nodding towards the younger man, Geoffrey went towards the roof, Andrew following suit. Julia eyed the younger ekon nervously, but her crossbow stayed clasped at her belt – for now – and she started to head north without another word. The house indeed wasn’t far away, a decrepit building on the merge of collapse just five minutes from the sewer exit.

“You _slept_ here!?”, Geoffrey exclaimed as they stepped into the building, the stench awaiting them inside almost unbearable. Julia carefully closed the broken door after them, making her way into the room while carefully avoiding the broken parts of the wooden floor.

“Well, I had to, since _your_ lot was after me and chased me out of the Turquoise Turtle – we have to thank Jonathan for our current hideout, without him I’d probably still be switching between empty buildings”, Julia replied, glaring daggers at him. She sniffed slightly. “Not that our hideout’s _that_ much better, but at least I don’t have to be afraid of the roof collapsin’ onto me and it has running water – that’s somethin’, I guess. Still, what would I give for somethin’ _proper_ , with a _comfortable_ bed, air _not_ smelling like the canal and proper lookin’ furniture without cracks and suspicious stains…”, she continued, ending with a longing sigh. The hunter decided not to comment on that, but only settled carefully down onto an old chair, wincing as it creaked under his weight.

“So, what can you tell us, Andrew? Do you know anything about the attacks on Priwen? Do you know who turned you?”, the hunter enquired, turning back to the young guard who had quietly listened to the conversation before.

“I… I reckon I’d start best at the beginning”, Andrew stated, settling himself down on another chair. “It all started when we went out for a patrol – jus’ the normal schedule, nothin’ unusual. We were suddenly ambushed by a bunch ‘f fuckin’ leeches – ekons, three ‘f them at once, out of the nowhere. Luckily, they didn’t seem to be very experienced an’ we managed to take them down without too much casualties. Several of us got bitten by them, though, an’ we treated the bites like usually an’ headed back to the headquarters afterwards. I was entirely spent when we finally arrived an’ went directly to bed”. He sighed heavily. “’t must’ve been ‘round noon when I woke up – my chest was hurtin’ like hell an’ I wanted to cry out for ‘elp, but I couldn’t move… jus’ lay there an’ ‘eard the others breathin’ ‘round me, sleepin’, while my chest was hurtin’ more an’ more an’ then I felt how my heart stopped”. He bowed his head. “Next thing I remember was wakin’ up with that terrible thirst an’ killin’ one ‘f my comrades. Wanted to end myself when I realised… but the voice…”, he groaned, hiding his face in his hands at the memory.

“Go on”, Geoffrey encouraged him softly, his gaze completely fixed on him.

“It stopped me – told me to seek revenge – we ‘ad already killed those bloody beasts of the ambush, but still I went out, huntin’ for them. Happened on some leech a while after I left the headquarters an’ practically tore it apart with bare ‘ands”. Andrew drew in a shaky breath, raising his head and looking at Geoffrey. “Someone came runnin’ – must’ve heard the noise – I remember him screamin’ an’ I was so mad at him screamin’ at me for takin’ out a monster”. He shook his head, desperation in his eyes. “Next thing I know I’m standin’ in that bloody alley where I ‘ad killed the leech, surrounded by three drained bodies – I don’t even know _how_ I’ve killed them, but their memories were swimmin’ in me head, hauntin’ me. Got my senses together, then, an’ ran for the sewers – the voice ‘ad stopped me from killin’ meself before an’ I was afraid of it doin’ so again. I also didn’t ‘ave no weapon, anyway, so I headed for the sewers since I knew there’re always leeches down there, hoped they’d do what I couldn’t”.

He stopped for a moment, the gaze of his bloodshot eyes lost in thought. “But obviously, I’ve survived”, he finally went on, brushing through his hair. “Dunno how long I was down there all alone, but after a while I happened on other leeches I recognised as former comrades – still took some self-control to not rip them apart but I was curious what ‘ad happened, so we talked. Turned out I wasn’t the only one – I already had known that, I heard the commotion when I left as some others of my patrol woke up in the same state ‘s I did – but they told me that there ‘ad been several patrols who returned like this, an’ it was gettin’ worse. Most of the others also ‘ad tried to end themselves, but also couldn’t…” He shook his head. “We agreed on stayin’ down in the sewers an’ hunt leeches down there after some discussion. Ain’t been easy, mind you, we ‘ad arguments an’ it happened more than once that we started fightin’ each other – sometimes we also couldn’t resist an’ ventured out for a hunt an’ that almost always ‘ad some poor sod killed. Got a lot worse when Krisztián came down an’ told us of that leech house, though”.

“’Leech house’? What leech house?”, Julia intercepted, also sitting on a chair and leaning forward eagerly. “Was jus’ comin’ to that”, Andrew replied, turning towards her. “Accordin’ to Krisztián, not all of the guards jus’ returned to the headquarters an’ turned there – that had gone down anyway, we suspected they were watchin’ the returnin’ patrols more closely an’ killin’ off anyone who turned – but some were taken by the ambushers an’ woke up in a house filled with leeches. There was a lot come an’ go an’ also occasional fights killin’ off all skals an’ the weaker ekons, but all were ‘f the same blood. ’s there where the ambushes were coordinated, said Krisztián, apparently some posh leech with West End accent was in charge, though Krisztián suspected he was actin’ on the orders of some other beast. He was extremely convincin’, however, making even most of the former guards comply an’ all who didn’t were killed right off – even though Krisztián said it seemed ‘s if he could control some leeches better than others”, the young ekon explained.

“Huh – you think it’s possible he had better control over his direct progeny, maybe via that maker-progeny connection my maker also uses?”, Julia enquired, turning to Geoffrey.

The man shrugged. “Possibly – but your maker never _forced_ you to do something you didn’t want to, did he?”, he replied with a frown.

Julia shook her head. “No, he only pestered me to no end. But I don’t think he ever really tried – and he _had_ some frightening influence on my head when I was down in Ascalon’s cellar”, she said with a shiver. “Not that I’m not grateful for the protection he gave me back then”, she added after a moment.

The hunter nodded thoughtfully at that. “It is certainly something to consider – do you know where this house lies?”, he answered, his gaze turning back to Andrew at the last question.

The young man nodded. “Yeah, ‘s a town house in Clapham, Krisztián told us the address. We tried to attack them, actually, but… the voice stopped us an’ it ended… bloody. We didn’t try again. But I can give you a description how to find it”.

“That would be extremely helpful”, Geoffrey replied whilst Julia fished out the notebook Jonathan had given her, handing it over to the younger ekon alongside with a pen.

“You can write, can you?”, she enquired as she saw the other ekon’s dubious look.

“I… yeah, but I kinda suck at it”, he replied, shoving the book back to her. “’s faster if I jus’ explain an’ you write it down, I’m afraid”, he went on apologetically. Julia nodded and flipped the book open, hastily noting everything down as Andrew began explaining.

“Thank you. Do you know how many leeches we have to expect there? Or anything else that could be of help?”, Geoffrey enquired when they were done.

Andrew shook his head. “I’m afraid s’all I know – Krisztián said the number ‘f leeches there changed all the time ‘cause of those fights an’ ‘cause they headed out so often. Their boss stayed mostly in the house, though. An’ I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout their plans, only that they were attacking the guard, obviously”, he said.

“Knowing about the whereabouts of the house is already a lot, and I think I might be able to deduce the rough structure of the building with the memory of the leech I’ve drained, even though that stuff’s terribly blurry”, Julia stated, tipping thoughtfully with the end of the pen against her chin.

“Will you help us taking them down?”, Geoffrey enquired, directed at Andrew.

“I… I’d like to, sir, but what if I get frenzied again?”, the younger ekon replied sceptically.

“I doubt you will”, Julia said with furrowed brow. “Jonathan said the antidote wasn’t always sufficient to treat someone already infected, but _if_ it works, the leech in question seems to be quite stable, even if it cures only the symptoms”, she went on.

“What do you mean, ‘cures only the symptoms’?”, Andrew enquired, alarmed.

Julia sighed softly, exchanging a look with Geoffrey. “Exactly what I said – the antidote cures the symptoms, the hate and the voice and that stuff. It doesn’t make you… well, healthy, if you can call a leech that. You’re still a – how did Jonathan call it? A silent carrier?”, Julia explained.

“Healthy carrier. That means, you can still infect others”, Geoffrey corrected her, watching the rookie sternly.

Aghast, Andrew stood up, taking a step back. “You mean I can’t only turn people into fuckin’ leeches but they’ll also be nuts!?”, he exclaimed.

Geoffrey nodded gravely. “Aye. And, in contrast to other leeches, not only your blood is infectious, but also your bite”. He smiled tightly. “We suspect that’s how most of the boys were turned. And you’re also infectious for other _leeches_ , if they haven’t got the antidote, at least – we are not sure how big the influence of bloodlines is regarding that, however”, he went on.

With terrified face, Andrew took a further step back. “That’s terrible – I’m a threat to mankind!”, he exclaimed, fumbling for the gun.

“It might not be permanent, Jonathan – Dr Reid – is already workin’ on a cure to fix it”, Julia tried to soothe him, watching his movements wearily, her hand flying to her crossbow.

Andrew shook his head, now holding the gun in his hand. “I ain’t takin’ that risk”, he cried out, his gaze wandering to Geoffrey. “I’m sorry, sir. I might’ve followed you in your fight – ‘s crazy as the thought ‘f a leech huntin’ down other leeches is, it might work, an’ I respect your decision to stay alive – might be even for the better. But I can’t… I’m a murderer, an’ too much ‘f a risk. You’ll take the bastard who’s responsible for all that shit down, will ya? I trust you with that”, he stated, raising the gun and placing its muzzle into his mouth. The shot rang through the room just as Julia sprang towards him, too late to stop him.

“No…”, she whispered horrified, catching Andrew’s body before it fell to the ground.

“He was right. As terrible as this is, it’s for the better”, Geoffrey said softly, also having gotten up and now standing behind her, placing his hand on her shoulder, his touch sending a small tingle through her body.

Julia glanced back at him. “But Jonathan was workin’ on a cure and we could have taught him…”, she argued, her voice catching.

“No, Julia. It is not certain that Reid is able to find the cure, there might be none. And just imagine the disaster he could have caused if biting a normal leech on his hunt and said leech manages to get away… Sometimes things like these are inevitable. I would’ve let him attack those infected leeches; he would’ve deserved that opportunity. But sooner or later…” He shook his head. “It is a risk all of the guard take knowingly. And he did the thing we expect of everybody who finds himself being turned”. He smiled tightly. “The thing _I_ didn’t do, in fact. Carl would be completely out of it”.

Julia bowed her head, lying the corpse she was still holding carefully down on the ground. “You’re right, even though I’m glad you didn’t do what _Carl_ would’ve expected from you”, she stated finally. “And I don’t… I was prepared to put him down should he become a threat, and I wouldn’t have hesitated. But… this… I dunno, ’s different and it makes me feel terrible”, she went on softly with averted eyes.

Geoffrey squeezed her shoulder at that. “Ending a beast you know to be hurting someone is always different than killing one who at least feigns peacefulness”, he replied, going on with a grimace. “Even though I must admit I have begun doubting if all beasts I took down over the years only feigned it. But there’s nothing I can do about that anymore”, he admitted. “And then watching a suicide’s always something else entirely than putting down a feral beast. Especially since we just talked to him – what you feel means you still have some humanity left, Julia”, he concluded with a sigh.

Julia nodded sadly. “Apparently”, she stated, taking a deep breath. “You think there’s a way to get him properly buried? To let his family know?”, she enquired, looking up at him.

Geoffrey shrugged. “I’ll tell the guard when I see them tomorrow – I guess they have already informed his family when he vanished, _if_ they know where to find them. And they’ll probably fetch his body during daylight hours, burn him – it’s the usual procedure with leech corpses, to make sure they won’t rise again and that there’s no blood staying even if it’s not able to turn anyone anymore after longer exposure to the sun…”.

Julia nodded absentmindedly. “Good. Just let me… do somethin’ about how he lies there – we can’t just let him here like this”.

The hunter inclined his head, doing his best to help as Julia shuffled around the dead body, arranging him as well as she could with his destroyed skull and finally covering him with a torn blanket she got from the bed in a nearby room. “Do you think we can make it to that house before sunrise? You know this city better than me”, Julia enquired when they were done.

“Aye, I think so. But we won’t have much time to scout the area and it’s very probable that we’re going to be trapped inside the house due to the sun. I don’t like that prospect, it’s better if we go tomorrow”, the hunter replied.

“Then I’d suggest we stop by at Pembroke. We should tell Jonathan what we found out and he also might need some help with watching Clarence”, Julia stated, earning a sigh and an appreciative nod from Geoffrey.

* * *

The walk back to the hospital was fast since they were already nearby, and they found Jonathan in contrast to their expectations in his office, crouched over the laboratory bench. “I’m surprised to find you here – shouldn’t you be downstairs playing the benevolent doctor leech?”, the hunter enquired when Jonathan let them in.

The doctor sighed, exhaustion evident in his face. “I should. But a colleague of mine has read the obituary for my mother in the newspapers and since I’ve not been exactly focused tonight… word’s gotten around, and the administrator said I should take this and the next two nights off. Said I looked exhausted and that I should try to sleep, otherwise I would be no use to the patients”, he explained, turning back to the laboratory bench. “I’ve decided to use the time for some more research on the cure – I just can’t leave the hospital as long as Clarence stays here and finding a proper cure is more urgent than ever, considering the recent events”, he went on while reassorting several test tubes in their rack.

“The administrator is right – you look like shit and you _should_ definitely be sleeping, not conducting research”, Julia replied with a worried frown.

“That’s my decision, isn’t it?”, Jonathan snapped back, before regaining his composure, glancing at her sheepishly. “I apologize, this was inappropriate. I have to admit, I _am_ tired”. He sighed wearily, rubbing his hand over his face. “But have you two found anything?”, he enquired, changing the topic.

Geoffrey nodded, and the two hunters gave Jonathan a rough description of what they found out. “I see”, the doctor stated when they were done, rubbing his forehead. “This does sound like a promising lead, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you – not as long as Clarence has no one else to have an eye on him”. He frowned. “You said this deceased guard’s name was Andrew Woodbead?”, he enquired.

Geoffrey nodded, raising his eyebrows. “Aye, it was. Why? Don’t tell me you knew him, leech”.

The doctor shook his head. “No, I didn’t. But I _do_ know his father, I met him occasionally on my rounds”. He sighed. “He had been very worried about his son, he hadn’t heard from him since Andrew joined Priwen. I assume it’ll be best if I tell him as soon as I find the time to do rounds again”, he explained.

Julia nodded in agreement. “That probably would be the best”. Her gaze went over the things clattering the work bench behind Jonathan. “But seriously, Jonathan, I think you should take a break. Geoffrey and I can have an eye on Clarence like we did last night. Go home. You need to rest”.

The doctor shook his head. “I will rest when the sun rises, I promise. But I… the house has been terribly quiet with my mother gone. I don’t think I will be able to get some proper sleep there. Here, I can at least do something useful, like watching over my friend”, he answered quietly.

The woman gave him an understanding look. “I see”. She sighed and glanced to the hunter who was sitting quietly on the bed. “I guess we better head back to our hideout, then – see how much of that ‘leech house’s’ layout I manage to grasp from that memory”.

Geoffrey nodded. “Aye. And I think some more training with that blade of yours also wouldn’t hurt – I’ve completely owned your arse last time”, he replied with a smirk. Julia only scowled at that, and the two left into the night.

* * *

Julia indeed managed to draw at least something like a rough layout of the house, even if she was more than sketchy about many details. The training with Geoffrey didn’t go as well, however, and Julia threw her dagger furiously into the corner when she and the hunter went back into their hideout just before sunrise. _Maybe I’d be better at these training sessions if my mind wouldn’t be busy with pondering how Geoffrey moves, damn it. As if we don’t have other problems right now. I really should stop daydreaming about things that won’t happen_ , Julia thought, furious at herself.

“You can’t expect yourself to learn something like this in only a few nights, Julia. I trained since I was a young boy to become as proficient with the blade as I am. Also, your ability to predict my movements _has_ increased and this is far more important than actually wielding your blade, especially considering your marksman skills”, Geoffrey tried to reassure her. Julia didn’t acknowledge this with an answer, but only slumped onto her bed in frustration. Knowing she was behaving childish, she decided to change the topic.

“At least we have somethin’ to hand over to the guard when we meet them this evening”, she stated.

Geoffrey shook his head. “No, Julia. Not we. _I_.”, he objected. Before the other ekon could start to argue, he went on. “Look, I know you want to accompany me. But your presence there will be the opposite from helpful. It will make the men much more nervous and increase the chance of violence drastically”.

“Might be, Geoffrey. But have you ever considered you might have ceased your usefulness to them ‘s soon as you hand over the information? They might decide your continued existence to be a too great risk – I _certainly_ would think along these lines if I was them”, she replied with clenched jaw.

“Of course I thought of that, but what do you want me to do? I will not, I _cannot_ abandon them, and I also certainly _won’t_ start a fight with them, so your help wouldn’t be of any use anyway!”, Geoffrey exclaimed with furious eyes.

“For god’s sake, I’m not suggesting _fightin’_ them, Geoffrey! But my abilities to impede someone’s movements could be incredibly helpful to stop them from shootin’ you and I could simply vanish into thin air if they try to shoot _me_ ”, Julia retorted, also getting wrought up.

The hunter shook his head darkly. “You wouldn’t get far, Julia. They have UV lights and _you_ know that you won’t be able to move much as soon as the rays hit you. Definitely not enough to dodge any bullet coming your way. I appreciate your offer, I really do, but you can’t help me there. All your presence would do was to make a violent outcome much more likely and probably get both of us killed. Also, _if_ they happen to end me, we will need _someone_ to assist Reid fighting that French leech that’s probably behind all this shit, since he got his butt owned dramatically last time”, Geoffrey stated, calming down. His conversation partner bit her lip at that, glancing to the ground.

“Fine”, she finally gave in. _He’s right, and I bloody don’t have any right to patronise him like that._ “I see your point. Might have somethin’ else to do at the time of your meeting anyway”.

The hunter sighed in relief, getting up from the chair he had sat down on when Julia got onto the bed. “Thank you. I guess we’d better catch some sleep, then”, he stated, moving upstairs. Both of them spent the day with uneasy sleep, the upcoming meeting with Priwen making them anxious and restless. They didn’t talk much when the sun went finally down, Julia only wishing Geoffrey good luck when they split up, the hunter heading towards Priwen’s old headquarters and Julia heading to Pembroke, planning to watch over Clarence while Jonathan attended his mother’s funeral.


	30. Negotiations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to have a look on what happened in the guard in the meantime, isn't it?

_Priwen headquarters, some hours after Geoffrey’s first meeting with Esther and Robert_

Robert wearily drew his hand over his bald head while he let his tea brew – spending last night as well as the day and this night awake took its toll and he felt completely exhausted. _Seems I’m gettin’ old_ , he thought, taking a sip of his mug and flinching as he burnt his lip. With a heavy sigh, he took the other cup which was filled with coffee and headed towards Joseph’s office – according to the boys the other captain had spent the last few hours buried in paperwork and Robert reckoned he’d appreciate some coffee while sharing the results of the meeting with Geoffrey. He found the young captain indeed at his desk, several piles of papers stacking up around him.

“Looks like we’ve all got a long night – I almost envy Tom for all the free time he gets to sleep properly”, Robert stated as he walked into the room, closing the door behind him with his elbow.

“Yeah, the guards told me he _does_ sleep a lot and spends the rest of his time mostly with reading, the lazy bastard”, Joseph smirked, looking up from the piece of paper he had just been writing at.

“Hah! Bet he does that!”, the bald captain exclaimed, taking a seat in the chair in front of Joseph’s desk. “I’ve reckoned I’d better fill you in with some details ‘bout our meetin’ with that leech – brought you some of that piss you prefer to proper tea to help you bearin’ with it”, he went on.

“Ta. I certainly could use a cuppa. Just place it… eh… somewhere, I’ll just finish that report…”, the other captain replied, his focus shifting back to what he was writing.

Robert nodded, shoving carefully a pile of papers aside to place the cups and cursing silently when the uppermost sheet fell down on the ground in the process. “Wait, I’ll get it”, he mumbled, ducking beneath the desk. It had flipped over, showing its upper side to the bald captain and causing him to freeze. _Why has he got a plan of our new headquarters on his desk? Looks almost as if he’d drawn it by himself_ , he wondered, getting up. “What’s that?”, he enquired, showing the plan to the other captain. Joseph glanced up at that, his cheeks flushing as soon as he took a look at the paper.

“Give me that”, he said sharply, snatching the paper from his comrade’s grip.

Robert raised his eyebrows at that. “What the heck?”, he enquired, taken aback.

“Sorry – it’s just… I… well, you know I don’t see Cathy as much as I’d like to with all that shit going on, so I started writing her letters. Private letters, you know”, Joseph explained, his face of a deep crimson colour.

_Love letters? With a plan of our headquarters? Does he really think I’d believe that shit? Or… no, that can’t be, that bloody bastard!_ , Robert thought, only barely keeping a straight face as the realisation dawned on him. “I thought you two broke up – your girl didn’t exactly keep it quiet when she shouted you down back in the old ‘eadquarters”, he replied carefully, studying the other man’s expression while his thoughts were racing.

“Uh, well, we did. But she came back a couple of nights later, said she wanted to try it again. The letters were her idea, since I spend so much time with the guard being a captain now an’ all…”, the other man stated, shifting uneasily in his chair.

_Hell, if I hadn’t seen what’s in that ‘letter’, I’d even believe him – sounds like he believes it himself_ , Robert thought with a flash of anger. “Sorry, didn’t wanna pry”, he replied, careful of keeping his voice light while he boiled inside.

“’s no problem, I apologise for my overreaction”, his conversation partner retorted, placing the plan carefully back on his desk and returning to the report he was writing afterwards. Robert’s eyes narrowed in thoughts.

_Could end him here an’ now, make sure he does no harm anymore. Don’t like the idea of ending him and Greenwood as well as Tom certainly won’t like it, but it’d be playing safe and the bloody bastard shouldn’t have let himself getting charmed in the first place… But no, could potentially divide the guard and it’d be better if we could get some information out of him, anyway. And hopefully remove the influence whichever leech has on him. I need to lock him in somewhere, ‘s inconspicuously as possible. Fuck, bein’ subtle is much more Greenwood’s thing. But I can’t get her without leaving Joseph alone and I don’t like the thought of giving him the possibility to wander off_, he pondered, his face lighting up as he got an idea.

“You mind if I steal a piece ‘f paper? Jus’ remembered somethin’ I need to get my boys to do an’ it can’t wait ‘til after a conversation possibly takin’ hours”, Robert enquired.

“Help yourself, I still need a minute anyway”, the younger captain said with a shrug.

_I better don’t write my suspicions directly, just in case he’s not the only snitch_ , the bald captain pondered, scribbling a hasty note after a moment of thinking.

> Esther,
> 
> I need to discuss something with you, urgently. Think I’ll get to your office in some minutes – please make sure it’s suitable, I’ll bring Joseph along and latter one might wanna stay for some hours in your place or in another quiet room.
> 
> Robert
> 
> P.S.: Did you know Joseph’s writing love letters to Cathy? Seems it started just after Geoffrey’s turning – who’d have thought the boy gets influenced like that? Always thought he was too stubborn to let anyone in his head like this.

With a satisfied smile, Robert folded the note. _That should hopefully do, Greenwood’s smart enough to figure out I’m not using an urgent notice for idle conversation_. “I’ll jus’ hand it to one ‘f the boys”, he stated, stepping out of the office before the other captain could reply and closing the door behind him. “Oi, you!”, he exclaimed, directed at a brawler who was just passing by.

“Yes, sir?”, the man enquired, stepping closer.

“Bring that to Esther immediately, you’ll find her in her office. An’ hurry, it’s urgent”, Robert ordered, turning around as the man took the note with a curt nod and headed off. “Sorry – stayin’ up all day took its toll, I keep forgettin’ things”, the bald captain apologised as he stepped back into the room, finding Joseph standing at the window and staring down onto the empty street, seemingly lost in thoughts.

“No problem, I know how it is. But now, tell me, what news did that meeting with Geoffrey bring?”, the other man enquired, turning around and sitting down on the chair again.

_Guess I could try and feed him up with wrong information – but nah, better not. ‘s probable he heard already some of the boys gossiping and I ain’t want him to get suspicious_ , Robert thought before replying “You probably ‘eard some things already – the leech seemed to be compliant, but that ain’t a surprise. We spent the last few hours double-checkin’ everythin’ ‘e said with the other boys an’ we ain’t found no proof of him tryin’ to meddle with our thoughts. But then he’d be daft to try in that situation an’ Geoffrey’s always been a cunnin’ one”, he started explaining, the two captains discussing the information the ekon gave them during the meeting for the next few minutes. _Guess that should’ve been enough time for Esther ta prepare things_ , Robert thought after a while.

“We’ve also found some interesting documents when searchin’ the leech’s pockets. Took them with us, they’re in Greenwood’s office if you wanna look at them. Got to have a word with the girl anyway, we could go there together”, he stated, hoping the other captain wouldn’t see through his ruse.

Joseph raised his eyebrows. “Documents? Sure, I’ll have a look at them, what are they about?”, he enquired, getting up from his chair and snatching the plan and some other papers from his desk, putting them into his pocket after placing them into an envelope.

“You better see for yourself – would take longer explaining them to you than simply showin’ them”, Robert stated, getting up from his chair as well and heading towards the door.

* * *

They found the door to Esther’s office open and deserted, her desk being unusual tidy. “You know where she keeps them?”, Joseph enquired as they stepped into the room, freezing on the spot as the door was suddenly closed behind them.

“I have to ask both of you to raise your hands and to keep still”, Esther, who had been waiting just next to the door together with one of her most trusted sergeants, said from behind. Both of them had their guns drawn, aiming them at the two captains.

“What the fuck, Esther?”, Joseph exclaimed while raising his hands and turning around.

“Please place your weapons on the desk. Slowly”, the female captain ordered calmly, ignoring Joseph.

“Like hell we – what are you doing, Rob?”, Joseph enquired as Robert slowly pulled his gun out of its holster and placed it on the desk, followed by his knife.

“Just do ‘s she says, Joseph. Girl ‘as her reasons”, the bald captain replied.

“And what would those be? She could be the snitch for all we know – hell, then this shit makes suddenly sense!”, the brown-haired captain retorted, keeping his hands raised but making no movement to remove his weapon.

“She’s only actin’ cause ‘f the information I gave ‘er – please don’t make things harder than they ‘lready are”, Robert replied, his surprise about also being a suspect only having lasted a moment. _‘f course she’d have to make sure I’m not the culprit and tryin’ to make a scapegoat out of Joseph_ , he thought.

With an angry huff, the other man finally complied, placing his pistol next to Robert’s. “What’s that all about, Esther? What shit has Robert told you?”, he asked defiantly.

The woman gave him a stern look. “Only that you were writing some interesting letters to Cathy. Would you mind if I had a look at those?”, she enquired, her hand which held the gun not wavering.

“The letters? You’re pointing a gun into my face ‘cause I’m writing letters to my girl? What is wrong with you? And no, you can’t see them, they’re private!”, Joseph spat furiously.

“’e’s got them with ‘im – they’re in an envelope in his right pocket”, Robert intercepted.

“I can’t believe you!”, the other captain snarled, shooting the bald man a furious glare.

Esther sighed. “Listen, I’m really not interested in your love life, Joseph. You should know me better than that. But Gibson here has made some ridiculous accusations and I need some prove of your innocence before we put him into isolation. I am terribly sorry about having threatened you like that, but I was afraid he’d be putting on a fight otherwise”, she stated, lowering her gun while the sergeant kept his one aimed at Robert.

_She can’t be serious!_ , Robert thought, a scowl spreading on his face. He kept his silence, however, not wanting to spoil any possible plan of hers. Esther’s lips curved into a small smile. “Just hand me those letters, will you? The faster we are done with this, the sooner we’ll be able to put him in isolation. I promise I won’t pry more than necessary”, she stated directed at Joseph, her expression and body language open and friendly and her voice almost entrancing.

“I… ok, alright”, the brown-haired man said, slowly retrieving the envelope from his pocket. Just before he placed it into her waiting hand, he snapped it back, however. “No! You’ve got no right to read those!”, he exclaimed, darting for his gun.

Before he managed to reach it, he was grabbed by Robert, however, the two men wriggling furiously with each other. “Stop it at once or I’ll shoot _both_ of you!”, Esther’s voice sounded, making both men looking up into the end of the gun she was aiming at them. In her left hand she held the envelope which had fallen to the ground when Robert attacked the other captain.

“All right, all right – no reason to get worked up like this. Just go ahead and sate your bloody curiosity”, Joseph grumbled, his shoulders slumping and his body relaxing. Robert only nodded, releasing the other captain but staying close to him in case he’d try to go for the weapons again. Shooting them a cautious look, Esther lowered her weapon again, entrusting the sergeant to keep the captains at bay while she opened the envelope. The next few minutes went by in tense silence, Esther’s expression unreadable while she went through the inlying papers. Finally, she placed the sheets back into the envelope and tucked it into her jacket, giving a small nod.

“Very well. Please could both of you step between me and Frank?”, she said, referring to the sergeant. Both men complied silently, their bodies tense. “Thank you. Gibson, you’re free to grab your weapon”, the woman stated, aiming her weapon now at Joseph, who looked at her in utter bewilderment.

“But you’ve read the letters! You know that I haven’t done anything!”, he exclaimed.

Esther shook her head. “Yes, I’ve read the ‘letters’. You’ve been fooled, Joseph, and obviously quite efficiently. I would ask you not to fight back”, she replied, continuing as she saw suspicion running over his face. “Think about it, Joseph! Cathy made it very clear when she said she didn’t want to see you ever again. Well, shouted, in fact. And I’ve seen the ‘letters’ of yours, they are clearly _not_ love letters. Both Gibson and I saw this, but you didn’t. I know whatever this vampire did to your brain must be thoroughly, but what do you think is more likely – one of Priwen’s captains to be manipulated by an immortal or two? Please, come with us silently, for your own sake”.

The other captain gave her a dubious look, but finally, he gave in. “Do as you wish, it’s not like I could stop the three of you at once while being unarmed”, he uttered, nodding towards Robert who had retrieved his weapon and was aiming it at him.

“Thank you. Frank, please cuff him. He might be compliant right now, but we don’t know what that leech manipulated him to do in case he’s captured, and I don’t want to take any risks”, Esther ordered. The sergeant complied silently, Joseph putting up no protest but only staring in disbelief as the other man grabbed his wrists and cuffed them behind his back. Esther searched him afterwards but didn’t find anything of notice. They brought him to a small room in the cellar nearby where Thomas was kept when she was done, two guards already waiting at its door and locking it as soon as Joseph was released from his cuffs and herded inside.

“There’re also guards on duty at the window – it is too small for him to climb out, but we didn’t want to risk him communicating with any vampire through it”, Esther stated in a low voice as soon as the door was shut.

Robert nodded thoughtfully. “Good. We should search his office immediately – if there’s another snitch, ‘e might try removin’ any proof we could find there. You could fill me in on the content ‘f the ‘letters’ meanwhile, I’ve only seen the plan of the building. Was enough to let my alarm bells ring, though, ‘specially since Joseph claimed it to be a love letter”, he said.

Esther nodded. “It was mostly information on our patrol plans, as well as a surprisingly detailed report about our meeting with Geoffrey – I assume he has the details of this from the men we took with us at the meeting”, she explained.

Robert frowned at that. “So, it really ain’t been Geoffrey, wouldn’t make sense to get intel on the meeting otherwise…”, he pondered.

The woman shrugged. “Geoffrey could’ve wanted to know the guard’s view on things. But what has been done to Joseph was complicated and performed masterfully as far as I can tell. I highly doubt any newborn would have this kind of skill and I don’t think Geoffrey would’ve been able to make him believe he’s writing love letters to his girlfriend – he’d more likely broken his mind if trying”, she said while opening the door of Joseph’s office.

The other captain nodded grudgingly. “’True. Still, we wouldn’t ‘ave thought any neonate bein’ able to do all those tricks that bloody leech doctor pulls off, so we shouldn’t drop our suspicions too fast. An’ then there’s ‘lways the possibility that leech’s in the cahoots with another of his kind”, he stated, sighing inwardly as he glanced at the piles of papers on Joseph’s desk. _Searching those is gonna take ages. Fuck, what I’d give for some proper sleep now_.

Esther hummed her agreement, glancing over the paper stacks. “True enough. I guess we’ll need to wait what the next meeting with Geoffrey brings. Questioning Joseph also wouldn’t hurt, even though I doubt he’ll be able to tell us anything of much use”.

“We should call one ‘f the priests to try to get rid of the influence that leech ‘as on him. An’ it also wouldn’t hurt questioning his men, he oughta ‘ave a way of deliverin’ those letters”, Robert replied.

The black-haired woman nodded at that. “Will you see to that? I can see how far I come with searching all those stuff in the meantime”, she enquired, gesturing towards Joseph’s desk. The bald captain inclined his head, leaving the office shortly after, Esther already having started to sort through the papers.

* * *

_Two nights later, Priwen’s old headquarters_

After circling Priwen’s old headquarters to get an overview of the amount of men guarding the place, Geoffrey decided to approach the same patrol he had already approached last time, his vampire senses having spotted the men during his scouting. _They seem to have assigned fewer men for the meeting this time, even if the difference is minor_ , he thought while he approached the patrol with raised hands.

“McCullum’s here!”, Sanderson – the same man who had already taken his weapons last time – called out as soon as they saw him approaching, holding his hand out expectantly. “You know the procedure”, the man stated as Geoffrey drew nearer.

The ekon nodded, unsheathing his sword and placing it into the other man’s hand alongside with his gun. “Alright, let’s head in”, Sanderson called out as soon as he had secured the weapons. The guards surrounded Geoffrey, their weapons cocked at him and their eyes watching him warily.

_They have refrained from using those bloody intense lights this time. That’s a relief_ , Geoffrey thought gratefully when he stepped into the building. _But then they had probably only used them to hide the UV lights anyway, and I had already noticed those last time._ Again, all escape routes were guarded, the men cocking their weapons instantly at him.

“So, _leech_ , did you an’ your new _friend_ find anythin’ or should we jus’ pierce your ‘eart an’ get this over with?”, Robert’s gruff voice sounded as Geoffrey headed into the middle of the great hall, the main door being shut behind him by the patrol that had accompanied him.

“We _did_ find something indeed”, the ekon replied with an arched eyebrow. “There have been new developments before that, which I’d like to discuss with you first, however”, he went on.

“We’re all ears”, Esther said from behind. The Irishman turned around to her and gave her a short nod before he started explaining the incidents with Clarence and Jonathan’s mother. “Considering all this, we are certain that the leech pulling the strings here is targeting Reid for some reason. He also must be incredibly strong – I doubt the fancy doctor would have survived if that beast hadn’t decided on playing stupid games. Certainly a weakness we could exploit – wouldn’t be the first leech that falls to its tendency to play games when it shouldn’t”, Geoffrey concluded, smiling tightly at the last sentence.

Esther nodded thoughtfully at that; her face twisted into a worried frown. “Fighting a vampire strong enough to bring the doctor down without breaking into a sweat will certainly be… challenging”, she stated, Geoffrey almost feeling her thoughts racing. “But you claimed you had found something on our original… problem?”, she enquired after a moment.

“Aye, we have”, the ekon began, describing his and Julia’s chase through the canals and their conversation with Andrew, even though he left the information about the sewer skals out of his report – he owed them this curtesy for giving them information, after all, and he reckoned he could always tell the guard later on about them if they were willing to listen. “I have copied Julia’s notes on the whereabouts and the description of the house – I’ll hand them over to you if you promise not to shoot me as soon as I move further to one of you”, he ended his explanations.

“Jus’ give them to me”, Robert huffed, holding out his left hand while still aiming his gun at the ekon with his other hand.

“Here – there’s also a drawing from the house’s layout Julia deducted from the memories of the leech she’s drained. It’s quite sketchy and one of the storeys is missing, though, since the leech didn’t know it perfectly himself and the memories were also quite blurry”, Geoffrey explained while stepping cautiously towards the captain and handing the sheets of papers over.

“What do you mean by ‘memories of the leech she’s drained’?”, Esther enquired curiously as Geoffrey retreated, Robert scanning through the notes in the meantime.

“Ah, of course, you wouldn’t know”, the ekon mumbled, turning his gaze to the woman. “If a leech drains someone, he gets his victim’s memories. At least that’s true if a leech drains another leech”, he stated after clearing his throat.

The woman’s eyes widened at that. “Are you sure? That sounds…”

“…like a fuckin’ fairy tale”, she was interrupted by Robert.

“Aye. I am sure – I would know being a leech myself, don’t you think?”, Geoffrey replied dryly, his gaze darting back to the bald captain. “They aren’t always complete, however – some memories are missing, and others are blurred, hard to decipher. Julia said it’s even harder to get something useful from the infected leeches, since their memories are so bloody disturbing. I can certainly confirm the last part, but since I only drained infected leeches until know…” He shrugged. “I’m lacking the comparison, I’m afraid. We do need to get almost all of their blood to gain any memories, however. We’re also not entirely sure what happens if a human is drained, since neither me nor Julia ever did, and Reid claims to have done so only once when he first awoke. We certainly don’t get the memories of the humans drained by the leeches _we_ kill, but then Reid said he _did_ get something when he killed his sister, so maybe the leeches got them but they weren’t transferred to us…”. He shook his head. “I really don’t know. But whilst Julia and I usually avoid to fully drain any infected beast since we _don’t_ want their bloody memories in _our_ head, it can be useful in situations like this chase”, he ended his explanations.

“Still sounds like a bloody fairy tale to me”, Robert stated with a hostile glare.

“Believe what you want, Rob. You should ask yourself what I’d gain by lying about this, though”, Geoffrey replied, unfazed.

“I think we can discuss this later, don’t you, Gibson? The far more interesting question _I_ want to ask is what you are planning to do now, Geoffrey?”, Esther enquired.

“Well, Julia and I were planning to pay that leech house a little visit after this meeting, hopefully taking out the bastard pulling the strings, even though I doubt that – that West End leech might be the one turning the boys, but regarding to Woodbead he probably got orders from another leech. Wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the one that also attacked Reid. But even if he’s not the great master of the scheme, he might know things”, the ekon answered.

The woman cocked her head. “Do you think they’re maker and progeny?”, she asked.

The Irishman shrugged. “No idea. He’s definitely infected, though, and I doubt he’s a newborn – too skilful in ordering his progeny around for that if you ask me. Also, there’s still the matter of that Daniel Warner… I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the West Ender organizing the attacks since his name turned up when you questioned the turned boys. His name was several names above Reid’s in that bloody book of Ascalon, which means he must’ve joined the club some time before that fancy doctor leech. But then the incidents around his mansion were all only recently – I think it’s possible our enemy infected him _after_ he already was a normal leech and uses him now as an ally”.

“That sounds ‘lmost like a plausible explanation – colour me surprised, leech”, Robert replied, rubbing his chin.

“Glad to have your appreciation, Rob”, the ekon scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“Could you _please_ stop that, this bickering is not productive at all”, Esther intercepted annoyedly before Robert could reply. “That Leigh woman – where is she right now? I was half expecting her to accompany you here, considering the fact you were mostly seen with her since your turning”, she enquired.

“She wanted to, but I talked her out of it. She’s watching Crossley right now, ‘s far as I am aware”, Geoffrey replied, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. “I wouldn’t recommend trying to hunt her down there, though. Woman’s far too clever to get herself caught like this, but she’ll have to leave Crossley defenceless for some time to do so and that’s completely unnecessary and would potentially endanger him”.

“Clarence Crossley? I doubt that”, Robert stated.

“Why?”, Geoffrey asked with raised eyebrows, turning to the bald captain.

“Because he turned up in our headquarters today, claiming he was targeted by at least one immortal if not by several and enquiring protection – he knew quite something about vampires in general and even more about Dr Reid and Ms Leigh in particular”, Esther replied in the other’s captain stead.

“Man’s under our protection now, leech, so there’s no way your woman would be able to get to him to ‘guard’ him”, Robert went on.

“So, he actually listened to that bloody doctor…”, Geoffrey pondered. “Well, Reid will certainly be relieved to hear about that, actually. Bloody leech refused to leave the hospital if his friend was unguarded”, he went on.

Esther frowned upon that, pondering for some moments before turning towards the other captain. “I think it’s time to discuss some things”, she stated, moving towards the bald man. Robert nodded, signalling to one of the men lingering at the door to the infirmary with his left hand.

“Don’t you move, leech – we’re gonna resume our little conversation later on an’ I always found it easier to talk with people who’re not riddled with bullets”, he stated while he and Esther retreated towards the other room. One of the guards stepped to the radio Geoffrey only now noticed to be installed in one corner of the room – they must have done that after the last meeting. As it was turned on, white noise amplified by the big speaker of the device filled the room.

Geoffrey grimaced as the sudden noise hurt his sensitive ears. It got more bearable after some moments, his ears adjusting to the volume. This was at a cost, however, since the ekon realised soon that he was not able to hear any heartbeats anymore, nor the words of the conversation taking place in the other room.

_Interesting strategy. Never thought about doing that, but then we’ve only managed to get our hands on the radios some months before and Priwen also never felt the need of a bloody conversation with a leech before_ , he pondered before he tried to focus on the sound of the muffled voices coming from the infirmary. He winced as the white noise hurt his ears again, but ignored it as best as he could while listening in. His endeavours weren’t crowned with success, however, as he could only hear some words and snippets of sentences. The noise did cause his head to throb painfully after a while, though, and as he finally decided to stop his attempts, he had a full-blown headache. _Who’d have thought leeches even can GET a bloody headache_ , he thought while only barely keeping himself from gripping his temples – there was no need to make the men even more nervous, after all. While the pain had stopped from increasing now, it also didn’t decrease, the noise annoying Geoffrey more and more while he waited the captains to be done with their discussion.

* * *

“You look like you’d have bitten into something foul”, Esther’s voice sounded finally, the woman stepping through the infirmary’s door with the other captain in tow.

“Just found out leeches can get headaches – I’d highly appreciate it if you could turn off that bloody radio”, Geoffrey grumbled, giving her a dark look.

Esther’s eyebrows went up in surprise, but she turned off the radio, nevertheless. “So, it worked? You didn’t hear anything?”, she enquired curiously after that while moving further into the room.

The ekon shook his head. “No, I heard nothing, not even the heartbeats of the men nearest to me”, he stated, relaxing slightly as his headache finally subsided. He could hear Robert scoffing at his last sentence, the captain already having moved behind Geoffrey again. “So, what have you decided in that discussion of yours?”, Priwen’s former leader enquired after taking a deep breath.

“Would you be willing to wait with attacking that leech hideout?”, Esther enquired, cocking her head and assessing him carefully.

“Why should I? Those leeches are possibly causing more damage with each hour that passes”, the ekon answered with a frown.

“True, but we will need time to scout the place during daylight before making a move”, Esther replied carefully.

“Why would you want to – no, Esther. Please tell me you’re not planning to let _Priwen_ attack them”, Geoffrey stated.

“And why wouldn’t I, Geoffrey? Taking out leeches is what we do, after all, even if we have cut you some slack”, the woman replied sternly.

The ekon shook his head. “That’s certainly true, but wasn’t the whole point of you disregarding Priwen’s principles by working with leeches to minimise the risk of the boys getting turned by those fecking infected beasts? And now you want to _attack_ a whole bunch of them? If you’re taking the danger anyway, you could’ve saved yourself from the trouble of working with leeches, couldn’t you? Why don’t you leave this to me and Julia?”. He smiled wryly. “You made it pretty clear we’re considered as disposable, after all”.

“Yeah, I bet you’d like that, _leech_!”, Robert intercepted acidly. “What tells us you’re not shitting us – if we let you ‘deal’ with them, who tells us you’re not jus’ gonna warn them so they’ll move their hideout? Considerin’ you’re not already shittin’ us ‘bout that part! There’s no way we’re gonna trust you with that, you bloody beast!”, the man exclaimed.

“If you have so little trust, what tells you I’m not leading you into a trap, then?”, Geoffrey enquired darkly.

“Nothing but the enquiries we’re going to perform during daylight and the fact that you will be accompanying us – if you try anything, the men will end you faster than you can say ‘shit’. It’s a compromise, but we don’t see a better solution”, Esther replied calmly.

The ekon pressed his lips together at that, his brows furrowed with thought. “When are you planning to attack, then?”, he finally asked.

“Tomorrow night. Six pm, _if_ you can make it to that house in that time”, she stated, assessing him curiously.

Geoffrey pondered for a moment at that. “Seven would be better, I think, just to make sure. And Julia will be coming along – this is not negotiable. I won’t be able to stop her from coming and if I try she’ll only go secretly and possibly spoil our plans. Or, worse, she’ll go before we do and alarm the leeches accidently while getting herself killed”, he finally said.

Esther gave Robert an enquiring look at that but nodded as he inclined his head. “All right, then. We _will_ kill both of you as soon as you step out of line though. Consider this as our only warning”, she stated. The ekon gave her a curt nod.

“There’s an old outpost near the address you gave us – place’s bloody tiny, but it’ll be enough for you two leeches an’ some guards. We’ll meet there, since we’re gonna need to discuss our strategy before we attack”, Robert grumbled from behind, obviously not happy with the proceedings.

“I think I know which one you mean. We’ll be there”, the ekon replied. “Julia and I will use this night to scout the place – our leech senses will tell us more about the number of beasts inside than your enquiries, might as well put them to use”, he suggested.

“Jus’ don’t get yourself caught – there ain’t no need to warn them that we know the whereabouts of their hideout”, Robert snarled.

“I’m no rookie, Rob, and Julia excels in hiding her presence”, Geoffrey answered, rolling his eyes.

Esther only sighed at their bickering, before urging “Well, that’s obviously concerted, then. I’d suggest we end this meeting here, since I think we _all_ have a lot to do before tomorrow night”, she stated and began to move towards the door. Geoffrey took the hint and followed her while Robert was already opening it. Again all three of them were quiet when they stepped onto the street, even though the silence was more a thoughtful than a tense one.

“Your weapons, sir”, Sanderson said as he handed Geoffrey his sword and gun, tensing as he realised the last word of what he just said.

“Thank you, Sanderson”, the ekon replied with a sad smile, holstering his gun and sheathing his sword. “See you tomorrow, then”, he stated reluctantly, turning to the two captains.

“It’s unlikely you’ll see us both there, but yes, see you. Eventually”, Esther answered quietly.

“See you, leech”, Robert added with gruff voice, even though the last word lacked its usual venom.

Geoffrey nodded, before he finally turned around, shadow-jumping onto the next roof and vanishing into the night. _I guess I’ll try Pembroke first – even if Crossley’s not with Priwen, Julia might be waiting there or at least left a note_ , he pondered while moving over the rooftops, the movements having gotten so familiar he almost didn’t realise he was doing it anymore. He found Reid’s office indeed empty, but after a short assessment of the room after squeezing himself through the balcony door someone had left ajar, he found a note lying on the doctor’s bed.

> Hello Geoffrey,
> 
> Since I couldn’t find Clarence nor Jonathan here, I reckoned I’d try at the graveyard where the funeral of Jonathan’s mother takes place – I think I’ll find at least Jonathan there. Maybe he knows where Clarence is (I hope so), but even if not (especially if not) he’ll need some emotional assistance. If you’re back really early from that meeting of yours, you can join us there. Otherwise, I’ll be waiting for you at the hideout.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> Julia

_So I guess I’m going to attend a funeral. Hope those posh West-Enders won’t take offence on my clothes, I’m as sure as hell not gonna change them for that_ , Geoffrey thought after a short consultation of his pocket watch, heading off towards the West End afterwards.


	31. The Funeral

It was about half an hour before sunset when Jonathan awoke. He still felt tired, but the deep exhaustion he had felt during the last few nights had diminished with a full day’s sleep. After a few minutes, the ekon got up with a reluctant groan, washing himself up in the sink next to the door. He was just in the process of dressing as something made him halt. _Where’s Clarence?_, he thought worriedly, dressing now more hastily. He had become accustomed to the feeling of his friend’s presence in the room beneath, but now he felt nothing but emptiness there. Knowing that the risk of getting hit by a sunray if he left the room now was too high, the doctor began to pace, stacking himself up with several serums and some medicine while waiting on sunset. Finally, he felt the sun going completely down, the last remnants of his sleepiness vanishing with it. With determined movements, Jonathan headed towards the silhouette of Dr Strickland he sensed in the office next to him.

“Dr Reid – you’re here? I thought Dr Ackroyd gave you a few days off? Only appropriate considering the circumstances…”, his young colleague greeted him as Jonathan barged into the room.

“What? Ah, yes, he did. I… I was here to see after Clarence, actually, but he seems to be gone?”, Jonathan enquired, needing a moment to gather his worried thoughts.

“I see, that explains it, of course. Yes, he was released today, on his own responsibility. He insisted after an officer from Scotland Yard visited him”, Dr Strickland replied with compassionate expression. “I’m sure he’ll be fine, Dr Reid. His leg was already fixed up and due to the presence of the officer I am optimistic the… issue with his wife will be sorted out right now. You should go home – you will only get caught up in work if you linger here and you surely have other places to be right now”, he went on.

“I… yes. You’re right. Thank you, Thoreau”, Jonathan answered after a moment.

The other doctor nodded. “I’ll see you in two nights then? And, my condolences”, he stated, turning back to the papers on his desk when Jonathan inclined his head and went out of the room.

_So, he left. Hopefully he heeded my advice, if he’s wandering the streets alone during the night…_ He shuddered. _I should go and check his usual spot, as well as his house. There should be enough time before the funeral and it’s on my way anyway_ , Jonathan thought as he headed towards his own office, not wanting to risk too many encounters with the staff – Dr Strickland was right about the possibility of getting caught up in work, after all. He took a short time to change himself into the more appropriate attire for the funeral he had brought with him the last night, only his coat being a little bit out of place. He couldn’t do anything about that, however, since he needed to wear it to hide his sword and gun. He didn’t dare venturing the streets without the weapons. Not in the current situation.

* * *

His search for Clarence wasn’t fruitful, and whilst Jonathan was hoping his friend had simply followed his advice and was with either the brotherhood or Priwen, he couldn’t help but worry about him. He finally gave up looking for him, however, heading towards the church nearby the graveyard where his mother’s corpse was lied out. Despite him arriving some minutes early, Avery was already waiting for him at the front doors. “Mr Jonathan! I was worried you would not be attending, you didn’t come home this morning…”, the butler greeted him, his face lighting a little bit up.

“Of course I’m attending, Avery. And I’m terribly sorry I wasn’t home today, I was very tired when I stopped working this morning and decided to sleep at the hospital…”, Jonathan explained, straightening his coat which was somewhat rumpled after his walk with vampiric speed. Before the doctor could say anything else, however, the approach of a familiar presence made him turn around. _Clarence!_ And right, he could see his friend coming down the street, leaning heavily on a walking stick to avoid straining his bandaged leg. He was accompanied by two men in Priwen garb who tensed as soon as they noticed the ekon.

“I’ve told you he’d be here. But I doubt he’ll be looking for a fight right now. As are we”, Clarence murmured as one of the men moved his hand towards his weapon, his voice being too low for Avery to hear. The guard didn’t respond but he also didn’t draw the gun, letting his hand rest on the hilt.

“Mr Crossley – I wouldn’t have thought you would come after all what happened with… Mrs Crossley. But who are these gentlemen?”, Avery enquired, his tone making clear that he didn’t think Clarence’s company to be ‘gentlemen’.

“Some new acquaintances of mine, they insisted on coming along”, Clarence replied, not commenting on Venus and watching Jonathan with narrowed eyes.

“Well… shall we head in, then?”, Avery enquired nervously, feeling the tension that had developed since Clarence and the guards arrived. Clarence nodded and headed to the entrance, while Jonathan hesitated.

“I… I’m sorry. I… I can’t face her. I’ll wait here until they bring her out”, he said, knowing his affliction wouldn’t allow him to step inside a church. One of the guards scoffed at that and Jonathan could see the other one gloat, but Clarence shot him an almost compassionate look.

“I’ll tell her you’re waiting outside”, he stated softly, going inside together with Avery.

There was no mass due to the number of funerals needed to be held because of the epidemic – Avery had managed to make the vicar say a few words, but this would happen at the grave and therefore Jonathan didn’t have to wait long before the doors opened again, the vicar emerging first, followed by the gravediggers who carried the coffin with Avery, Clarence and the Priwen guards in tow. Jonathan lined himself up next to Avery silently, being only too aware of the trigger-happy Priwen guards in his back. When they arrived at the graveyard after a short walk, Jonathan’s head snapped up as he felt the presence of another immortal. It didn’t take him long to make out the figure waiting at the entrance of the graveyard, her usually coated silhouette being unusually slender and feminine in the elegant black dress she was wearing. With only a short glance at Jonathan and a longer one at the Priwen guards, Julia lined herself up behind Clarence without a word. Jonathan could feel the guards tensing even more, but none of them turned violent. _Not yet, at least. Hopefully they’ll be reasonable enough to stay their hands with the number of immortals here_ , the doctor thought worriedly as they moved towards the already open grave.

The vicar was holding a small speech like promised, mentioning Emelyne’s children and passion for art, but Jonathan couldn’t focus on it, his thoughts alternating between grief for his mother and worry about the current situation. He only realised the vicar had stopped talking when Avery gently nudged his side, encouraging him to step to the grave to give his final goodbye. With hesitant steps, the doctor approached it, his hand grasping the rose he had bought on his way to the church almost too tightly, the plant tingling in his hand and its faint smell itching in his nose.

“I’m sorry, mother. So, so sorry. I should’ve been there earlier, should’ve come home more often…”, the male ekon uttered with grave voice, biting back his tears. He did _not_ want to explain the red stains to Avery and the vicar. Gritting his teeth, he straightened up. “But I promise you, we’ll find your abductor and stop him from hurting anyone else, and if this is the last thing I do”, he stated, his voice more firm now.

With a deep breath, he loosened his grip around the rose, dropping it onto the coffin and turned around. He could see the Priwen guards watching him warily as he retreated, but they didn’t do anything than watch while Julia stepped towards the grave. She didn’t say anything, but he could see the determination written on her face when she turned away. Avery went right after her to the coffin, tears rolling down his cheeks. “Thank you for coming. I… I’d have thought you’d be hunting with McCullum, to be honest” Jonathan stated quietly when the other ekon stepped beside him.

Julia shrugged. “I probably would, but Geoffrey’s meeting Priwen right now and we agreed my presence there would only complicate things. I actually wanted to guard Clarence for you while you attend here, but since I found neither you nor him at the hospital… well, seems I now know the reason for that”, she replied, nodding towards Clarence who was just turning away from Emelyne’s grave, leaving the gravediggers to fill it with earth.

“Indeed”, the doctor agreed. “The dress suits you, I don’t recall having you seen in anything but trousers and your coat”, he continued in a futile attempt to distract his thoughts.

“Thanks. I’ve worn it at the devotions they held for my uncle and his fallen comrades, and later at my aunt’s funeral. Felt wrong to leave it behind, so I brought it with me when I headed to London. Didn’t think I’d need it so soon again, though”, she replied with a sad smile. Jonathan nodded at that, his eyes now focusing on Clarence who was speaking in a low voice with the Priwen guards. Before Jonathan could make out what they were talking about, his eavesdropping was interrupted by Avery, however, who had been lingering a little bit longer at the grave before.

“Shall we head home? Will Mr Crossley and his… acquaintances come, too?”, he enquired.

Jonathan shook his head. “I doubt it, Avery, and I also don’t think Ms Leigh will be accompanying us”, he stated, gesticulating towards Julia and turning to her. “… or, will you?”, he enquired, suddenly realising his assumption might have been rude.

The huntress was already shaking her head, however. “No, I don’t think that’d be appropriate”, she replied.

“Ms… oh, I am sorry Madam, I didn’t notice you before…”, Avery intercepted, blinking in confusion.

“’s alright. You surely have other things on your mind right now. I’m a… colleague of Dr Reid, by the way”, she introduced herself, giving the butler a small smile. Avery nodded, assessing her curiously.

Before he could say anything, however, he was intercepted by Clarence, who had approached them, the two guards flanking him. “I’ll need a word with Johnny, if you don’t mind”, he stated. Avery gave Jonathan a questioning look.

“It’s alright, Avery. Just go ahead, I’ll follow after I talked to Clarence – I think this conversation might take a while and there is no reason for you to wait here in the cold until we are done”, the doctor replied, assuming Clarence’s intended topic was vampire related. The butler shot the two Priwen guards a wary look, but finally he nodded hesitantly and turned around to head to the cemetery’s entry, following the vicar and the gravediggers.

“What is it you want to discuss, Clarence? And could you _please_ tell your friends to lower their weapons? I’d rather talk without a gun pointed into my face”, Jonathan enquired as soon as Avery was out of ear shot, referring to the guns the two guards had drawn and pointed on him and Julia as soon as Avery had started to walk away.

“Don’t stretch your luck, leech – the sole reason I didn’t place a bullet between the eyes of you and your she-beast of a friend is that Mr Crossley here insisted he wanted to talk to you”, one of the men answered sourly, his hand not wavering.

The doctor sighed at that, but he knew there was no point in arguing. _At least they didn’t cause a commotion during the funeral_ , he thought, making an encouraging gesture towards Clarence. “Speak on, then”, he sighed.

“I want to know what, _exactly_ , you’ve done to Venus!”, his friend exclaimed, glaring daggers at him.

“To Venus? Nothing, Clarence. Whatever happened, it was caused by her own doing”, Jonathan replied as calmly as he could.

“And you think I believe you? You come back from the dead, turned into a monster just to tell me my wife would be poisoning me and then, as soon as I turn my back to the house for some days, she gets arrested because of an accusation one of the doctors of the hospital _you_ are working at made! And you want me to believe you’ve got nothing to do with it? I am not that stupid! Why, Johnny? Why have you done this? Is this some sick game of yours?”, Clarence enquired frantically with cracking voice.

The doctor shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. _I should’ve known he’d jump to such a conclusion_ , he thought wearily. “As I said, I did _nothing_ to Venus, and believe me, I was tempted. I tried to warn you after I saw her _poisoning_ your food and I’ve also tried to talk her out of it more than once. Both to no avail, so I _apologise_ that I used the opportunity to ask a colleague of mine to perform some tests. And he wouldn’t have found anything if Venus wasn’t guilty”, he snapped, his temper flaring.

Clarence took a shaky step back at his sudden outburst, his heart rate shortly spiking up. “But why? Why would she ever do this?”, he enquired, looking at the ekon in despair.

“Shame and fear, Clarence. She never believed your vampire stories and she is so afraid of losing her good name and her fortune…”, Jonathan shook his head. “She never showed even an ounce of remorse when I talked to her. I’ve restrained myself from harming her in any way, but I won’t pity her for the fate her own actions have bestowed upon her”.

“I don’t believe you”, Clarence spat back. “Even _if_ she’s poisoned me, I don’t believe you didn’t manipulate her! The officer from Scotland Yard told me she was behaving bizarrely when they came to search our house – they said she denied having anything to do with me being poisoned but cursed me in the same breath. She also tried to stop them from accessing some places of the house almost violently, practically leading them towards the poison by doing so. So. What. Have. You. Done!?”

“That’s… I don’t know why she would…”, the doctor replied with a frown, turning around to Julia as a suspicion dawned on him, narrowing his eyes when she hastily tried to hide a smirk. “What have you done?”, he growled.

“Nothin’ she didn’t bring upon her by herself”, the woman replied, now not even trying to hide her smirk anymore.

Jonathan’s eyes narrowed further. “Julia…”, he said threateningly.

“Alright, alright”, she admitted, raising her hands defensively. “I _might_ have _suggested_ to her to make no bones about her… attitude regarding her husband, and I _might_ have added she’d want to keep the officers away from her poisons. But seriously? ’s not like she was holdin’ her snarky comments regarding Clarence back before, so I highly doubt she’ll suffer any long-term damage, and that was what stopped you from doin’ something like that yourself, wasn’t it?”. She widened her arms. “And frankly, even _if_ she suffered from some damage ‘cause what I’ve done, I have a hard time pitying her for it”.

“Of course you haven’t, you disgusting beasts think you’re something better, don’t you!? I should put you down here and now!”, one of the Priwen guards, who had stood by silently until now, spat.

“Really? Why haven’t you pulled the trigger then? Oh, is it because you’re aware that the _sole reason_ you’re not a corpse in the gutters right now is that Jonathan and I have no intent to hurt a human? Seriously, if you guys venture to a place where you _know_ a powerful leech likely to be lurkin’ about, why on earth don’t you take more men with you? I mean, I am aware that many of you guys will be occupied with the meeting going on with Geoffrey right now, but this? Two guards against an ekon like Jonathan, not to mention the other leech lurkin’ about that is _targeting_ Clarence and was able to defeat Jonathan before? This is stupidity. You are no protection to Clarence like this, but merely another snack for any hostile ekon with a little bit of power!”, Julia shot back with a scoff.

The man tensed at that, his finger curling around the trigger. “We are far from defenceless – I should’ve put you down the first moment I saw you, you bloody monster”, he snarled.

“ **Enough of this!** ”, Jonathan intercepted, putting force behind his words in the hope to stop the imminent blood bath. Both the man and Julia paused at that, their gaze focusing on him. “Julia, this situation is already difficult enough as it is, so did you _really_ need to rile that man up like this? What you said might not be entirely wrong, but it is hardly your place to tell the _Guard of Priwen_ how to do their work, is it now?”, he went on, only barely holding his composure. The woman grumbled something under her breath at that, but both she and the guards relaxed a little bit after his words, lowering the tension lingering in the air.

“Why?”, Clarence piped up quietly, his gaze turned towards Julia. “Why have you done this? If Venus really did what the police says – she probably had good reasons to act this way – then it’s my fault and you _promised_ you’d stay clear from me…”

The female ekon stared at him disbelievingly. “You can’t be serious – how would it be your fault if she bloody poisons you?”, she breathed, shaking her head. “You… you are, aren’t you?”, she enquired as Clarence didn’t respond. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. “Mr Crossley… I might’ve promised to stay clear from _you_ if I can and you wish so, but I _never_ promised to do so with your wife. Also, the sole reason I hunt leeches is to stop them from killin’ people, so do you _really_ think I’d stand idly by while your bloody wife _murders_ you? Fat chance! And ’s not like I hurt her, I only made sure the police would find the evidence she already had provided herself”, she went on, her eyes snapping open and locking on Clarence.

“With which right!? You destroyed my life!”, Clarence exclaimed, his eyes watering.

“Did I now? And with which right did _she_ poison you? I’d rather say _she_ destroyed your life by tryin’ to _kill_ you instead of _helpin’ you_! You deserve someone better, Clarence, preferably someone who isn’t actively tryin’ to _end_ you!”.

Her conversation partner shook his head. “It was not your decision to make”, he stated, his jaw clenched, and his hands balled to fists, silence falling between the two of them.

Julia shrugged and turned to Jonathan. “I’ve got the feeling Mr Crossley here would prefer it if I wouldn’t stick around, but I’m not comfortable to let you here alone with these… gentlemen”, she stated, gesturing towards the Priwen guards who had still not lowered their weapons. “I’ll be waiting for you to finish your conversation down there”, she went on, nodding further north. The doctor inclined his head as a reply, sighing inwardly as one of the guards followed Julia, watching her warily, his eyes not leaving her frame for a moment while she retreated.

“I am sorry, Clarence. If I had realised she would do something like this to Venus, I would have stopped her”, Jonathan said after a moment, trying to ignore the hostile glares of the remaining guard. Clarence shrugged and didn’t answer; his gaze being turned to the ground. “What are you planning to do, now? Will you stay with Priwen?”, Jonathan enquired after another moment of tense silence. He began to think Clarence wouldn’t answer him and remain silent, as his friend finally looked up.

“Why do you want to know?”, he asked tiredly.

“Why wouldn’t I?”, Jonathan replied gently. “You are my _friend_ , Clarence, and I care about you. Besides – I must know if you are safe. It is my fault you were targeted and this ekon isn’t likely to give up. McCullum, Julia and I do what we can to hunt him down, but until then…” He shook his head. “I’d be reassured if I knew you to be somewhere safe”, he finished.

Clarence gave him a funny look. “They warned me you’d try to get in my head, you know. Said you might already have done so at the hospital”, he stated softly, continuing before Jonathan could reply anything. “But you _are_ meaning what you say, don’t you? I’ve asked around about you. And what the guard knows fits to the things you’ve told me”. He smiled weakly. “So, I don’t see a point in denying it. Yes, I am with Priwen, at least for the time being”.

Jonathan nodded thoughtfully, glancing to the guard who was still glaring daggers at him, the gun being pointed at his heart steadily. “I know I’m repeating myself, but _please_ try to stay in private buildings during night hours. Whilst Julia’s comment wasn’t exactly appropriate in the given situation, she did tell the truth. Two guards, however skilful and well-armed they are _would_ have serious trouble when facing an ekon like me”. He smiled tightly at the guard. “No offence”. The man only tilted his head shortly in acknowledgement, his temper obviously of calmer nature than the one of his colleague who had been riled up by Julia before.

“I can’t promise you this, Johnny – I will not just end my endeavours to enlighten fellow men about the menace your kind brings because you say so”, Clarence replied stubbornly.

The doctor groaned at that in exasperation. “I’m not asking you to, I just want you to take a break during night hours until this crisis is solved. It won’t serve your cause if you get yourself killed or turned, after all. And I am sure there are other means to achieve your goals than knocking at people’s doors during night hours, especially since you’re with Priwen now”.

Clarence cocked his head, narrowing his eyes in thought. “Maybe there are. But I don’t think you are the right… person to discuss this with, Johnny”. He smiled mockingly. “No offence”. Jonathan only replied with a weak smile. “However, I think we should leave now”, Clarence went on, glancing at the guard next to him who was waiting impatiently, his wary eyes never leaving the ekon in front of him. The doctor inclined his head in agreement, his gaze searching Julia. She seemed to be in a tense conversation with the other Priwen guard but nodded as she caught his gaze and begun to move towards him, her speed almost too fast for the human to follow her without running.

Julia couldn’t help but feel somewhat smug when she walked back to Jonathan. Whilst the guard had remained mostly silent when she asked him for the reasons of them being here in this small number, he wasn’t very apt at hiding his annoyance whenever she guessed something hitting a sour spot. From what she had gathered, they were here on their own account, possibly against better advise. Probably Clarence had insisted on coming and they didn’t want to let him unsupervised, at least that was what Julia guessed. Aside this information, her short conversation with the guard had also successfully distracted her from her worry for Geoffrey. _I really hope he’s alright – I mean, he’s surely able to handle himself, but it’s Priwen he’s meeting with, after all.._. “So, we’re goin’ to leave, then?”, she enquired, suddenly anxious to get back to the hideout and ignoring Clarence who was glaring daggers at her.

“Indeed. There is no need in making Clarence’s new friends more nervous than necessary and I want to have a word with you anyway”, the doctor stated with a meaningful expression.

_Uh-oh. Well, not that I wouldn’t have expected it after that conversation with Clarence. I had hoped he wouldn’t find out. Or at least not so soon_ , Julia thought somewhat worriedly. “As if they could do anythin’ about it if we were to try something – really, comin’ here only with two guards was foolish, Clarence. You should be more careful”, she replied with a scowl. The guard that had been already provoked before bristled at her words, but before the man could do or reply anything a voice from behind intercepted.

“Am I interrupting something?”, it enquired, Geoffrey walking towards them with a casual pace. Both Jonathan and Julia started somewhat at his sudden appearance since their senses had not warned them of his presence. Their reaction was nothing against the one of the Priwen guards, however, who stared at their former leader in sheer disbelieve, the weapons of both of them pointing straight into his face.

“Another one?”, Clarence uttered alarmed, his voice being drowned out by Julia.

“You’re early”, she stated directed at the hunter, a broad smile spreading over her face as relief flooded her. _He’s alive! Well, as alive as a leech can be, I guess._ “And judging from that broad grin you’re wearing it went successfully?”, she enquired further.

The other ekon nodded at that, his gaze examining her closer. “You’re wearing a dress”, he stated matter-of-factly.

“What!? No, you don’t say! Really Geoffrey, you don’t have to state the obvious”, Julia replied, rolling her eyes, even though she felt oddly flattered that he had felt the need to remark it.

The hunter shrugged uncomfortably. “I’m just not used to it, that’s all – looks nice, though”, he retorted awkwardly, his gaze flickering to the Priwen guards and stopping on Clarence. More than glad to have a reason to change the topic, he stated “Mr Crossley, I assume? Esther had mentioned you asking for protection from the guard, but I wouldn’t have expected you to be loitering about outside, especially not with only two guards. You are aware that this is utter foolishness in the given situation?”.

“Don’t you think that’s on Priwen to decide? We really should get going”, Jonathan intercepted nervously before Clarence, who was looking at Geoffrey in obvious bewilderment, could reply. And, more importantly, before the guards could reply, since Julia had already riled them up repeatedly with exactly the same statement.

“Aye, you’re right, Reid. I’m in a too good mood to let it have ruined by the need to flee from bullets”, the hunter agreed, his grin not waning. Without further hesitation, the three ekons began to retreat, using their vampiric speed to get out of shooting distance as fast as possible and leaving the three humans behind.

* * *

“I’m sorry, but we need to stop by at a crypt nearby – I hid some spare clothes and my weapons there”, Julia stated after a moment.

“Why are you wearing a dress anyway? Not that it doesn’t look more than nice, but it can’t be practical”, the hunter enquired, his eyes roaming her appreciatingly. _Definitely more than nice_ , he thought, feeling his cheeks blushing slightly. _I really shouldn’t… check her out like that. It is highly inappropriate – we have other problems right now and we don’t need this kind of complications, especially considering our living situation…,_ he pondered, ashamed. He suppressed a sigh. He had started to realise his feeling towards her being more affectionate than he was actually comfortable with, but he couldn’t really help it. The only thing he could do was to not let anything on to not further complicate things.

“I was attending a _funeral_ , Geoffrey, one should do that properly dressed. Not that you’d care ‘bout somethin’ like that, you old savage. I won’t have the dress ruined by fighting in it however, hence the spare clothes”, the woman replied with an exasperated groan, oblivious to the hunter’s thoughts and turning her steps towards the crypt she had left her things in.

Geoffrey only pouted at that, deciding to better drop the dress-topic. _Shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place_ , he thought _._

“So, I guess you’d better tell us how your conversation with Priwen turned out before you burst”, Julia went on, curious and also keen on delaying the imminent conversation with Jonathan about her intervention with Venus.

Geoffrey nodded at that and started telling them everything about his meeting with the Priwen captains, only shortly interrupted when Julia vanished into the crypt, reappearing in trousers and coat only moments after. The three ekons continued their way through the graveyard and headed in the direction of Jonathan’s mansion while the hunter resumed with his explanations.

“You can’t be serious, Geoffrey! Why should we risk any human lives if we can handle the situation differently? I understand Priwen doesn’t trust us, but frankly, I don’t feckin’ care! They can have a look at the leech corpses when we’re done if they’re not believin’ us”, Julia exclaimed when he was done.

“I agree with Julia in this case, McCullum. I also don’t like the idea of you two being together with several of those trigger-happy fanatics in such a dangerous situation – even _if_ they are not meaning to hurt you, accidents happen, and I highly doubt they’d care if a ‘ _leech’_ is hurt”, Jonathan agreed with a frown.

Geoffrey shook his head at them. “First of all, I’m also one of those ‘trigger-happy fanatics’, Reid, and Julia and I are even sharing a house right now without you worrying all over. Second, as much as I agree with you, Julia, I am afraid we might not actually be able to do that”, he replied.

“What do you mean?”, the woman enquired.

The hunter sighed. “How many leeches will we find there, what do you think?”, he asked as a reply.

Julia shrugged. “Dunno – a dozen maybe? We’d have to scout the area for more information, the memories I’ve got are far too blurry. But whilst that surely is gonna be a tough fight, I think the three of us will be able to handle it with proper planning”, she stated. The brown-haired man nodded.

“A dozen neonates? Aye, that would be a tough fight indeed, but we also _would_ be able to handle it. Those are not the ones I’m worried about, however”, he started his explanation.

“You’re worried about Warner”, Jonathan intercepted with narrowed eyes.

The hunter shot him an acknowledging glance, before his eyes darted back to Julia. “Aye, Reid’s right. This Warner is most likely a seasoned leech, and a powerful one, too – otherwise those posh Ascalon bastards wouldn’t have taken him. Don’t care if he’s powerful because he’s cunning, resourceful or because of his bloodline, but fact is, fighting him won’t be easy. I don’t doubt the three of us wouldn’t have many problems against him alone, but alongside with several of his neonates? They might tear us apart”, he explained.

Julia furrowed her brow at that. “I still think we’d manage – I already fought more seasoned leeches, one of them from Ascalon, and while they’re certainly much more deadly foes than neonates, they’re still manageable and I was fighting them alone, not as a team”, she objected.

“That might be true, Julia, but you are forgetting several facts”, Geoffrey replied, rubbing his forehead. “First of all, we’re going to attack them in their bloody _hideout_. You might not be aware of this since we do not have much of a defence in _our_ hideout, but leeches usually guard their dens fiercely – mostly traps and, if you manage to get to them, they fight with everything they have. There’s a reason why the guard’s not simply storming leech hideouts during the day – it would be suicide in most cases. Second, it is likely that several of the newborns are progeny of Warner. And if our theory about him using the maker-progeny bond is true, they’ll be able to coordinate their attacks in a most dangerous manner. It wouldn’t be the first time something like this happens, the guard has seen this already much too often when hunting maker and progeny and we lost a lot of men because of it since we couldn’t understand what they were doing”, he went on, Julia’s face paling at the second part of his explanation.

“I haven’t thought of that…”, she breathed, worry in her eyes.

Geoffrey gave her curt nod. “It happens – as well as you’re handling yourself in a fight, you don’t have my experience, Julia. It’ll come with time. But those two points aren’t even all of our problems. We also _must_ take into consideration that there _is_ a possibility of our French friend showing up, and that bloody beast was able to almost take out Reid last time. We hopefully wouldn’t have a hostage situation this time but fighting two powerful leeches alongside with their progenies at the same time would most likely break our neck. And, last but not least, one of the reasons we _go there_ is to gather information. We hopefully get some if we manage to drain Warner, but what if we can’t get enough of his blood? We might need to capture him then, and Priwen’s _very_ proficient at that. We wouldn’t be able to gather so much intel about leeches and their hideouts otherwise”.

The woman nodded reluctantly at that. “I see your point, even if I still don’t like putting any human in danger. Or putting myself in front of their guns”, she said.

The hunter sighed at that. “If I would’ve seen another possibility, I’d tried to delay the meeting to buy us some more time to do it by ourselves – present them with the feat already accomplished. Hell, I even _did_ try to talk them out of it, but, truth is, we need them with this as much as they need us to cleanse that place – at least if we don’t simply set the house on fire, which has a too high risk of causing casualties”. He smiled tightly. “I guess this is the sole reason this allegiance is possible at all”, he added.

“But what tells us they won’t turn on us as soon as we are done? Might be they would hesitate to attack _you_ , McCullum, but I doubt they’ll show me the same courtesy. The guard and I do have some history, after all”, Jonathan intercepted.

Geoffrey scoffed at that. “Aye, but then you won’t be accompanying us, Reid”, he retorted.

The black-haired ekon narrowed his eyes. “You just pointed out that our puppet master might be showing up – do you really think you can go without my assistance, hunter? You might need every help you can get”, he stated matter-of-factly.

The hunter shook his head. “They wouldn’t accept you, Reid, and I rather have them by my side than you in this case. No offence, but numbers will be exactly what we need against this number of neonates. Julia might already be a problem, but since she’s been with me since my turning and never hurt anyone of the guard I’m taking the chance. But you? They would surely turn on you as soon as possible, and I’m not hating you enough to wish for that. Not anymore. You’re… too useful for that”, he replied.

The doctor raised his eyebrows sceptically. “I am flattered, but I still think…”, he started, being interrupted by Julia.

“I think Geoffrey’s right, Jonathan – don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have your help in this fight, but it won’t serve anyone if they put a bullet in your heart or if we lose Warner ‘cause we’re fightin’ among ourselves. I also think it’d be better if you used your time and effort for the research on a proper cure – you’re the only one who can do that, after all”, she stated.

Jonathan frowned at that, but finally, he nodded reluctantly. “You have a point”, he agreed with a sigh. “Come to think of it, I probably could use the time to ask Mr Talltree about the ekon who abducted my mother, the brotherhood might know him”, he suggested.

“That’s… actually a quite good idea – we should’ve come up earlier with that”, Julia agreed.

“I could at least help you with the scouting, however”, Jonathan stated. The woman shook her head.

“That’s a kind offer, but you… kinda stick out, Jonathan. No offence, but I can sense you easily through several houses and if those leeches are workin’ with that French one your presence will certainly be a red flag. It’d be better if _I_ go, since I can use my shadow veil to hide my presence. And Geoffrey isn’t ‘s noticeable as you are. I sometimes have trouble to sense him _at all_ if I don’t know he’s there, actually”. She frowned. “Funny thing, now that I think of it – I mean, you’re both almost equally strong, aren’t you?”, she pondered.

Geoffrey narrowed his eyes at that. “And then I always thought being unnoticeable is one of _your_ traits Julia, thought it was some side-effect of your shadow-veil”, he said thoughtfully.

The doctor cocked his head at that. “It is a trait you both share actually, as well as your similar smell”, he stated, scratching his beard. “I was wondering if this was due to your choice of nourishment, since I have not witnessed anything like it with any other immortal. But I can’t be sure”. He shrugged. “This won’t help us in our current discussion, however. And if you’re correct about the strength of my presence, then I won’t be much of help during your scouting indeed”. He furrowed his brow. “I think I _could_ ask one of my acquaintances to keep his ears open for any news, he has contact with a lot of people”, he suggested.

“Aye, do that. Julia and I’ll head to that bloody house in Clapham in the meantime to see what we find out, we can meet before sunset to discuss things in case any of us comes up with new ideas – in five hours, maybe?”, Geoffrey replied.

The doctor nodded. “I assume I should stop by at home to reassure Avery, anyway”, he mumbled. They used the rest of the way to Jonathan’s home for some further discussions, but shortly after the doctor waved his goodbye before stepping into his mansion while Julia and Geoffrey headed further into the city for their scouting.

* * *

It took them a while to get to the place since it was in another part of the city, but they knew instantly they were at the right address as soon as they drew nearer. “What on earth did they _do_ in there!?”, Julia breathed. The house, an unobtrusive three-storey building with several flats, was practically glowing to her senses through its windows, spilled blood coating walls and floors as far as Julia could make out.

“They must have been bathing in it – can’t say I’ve seen anything like it, and I’ve seen a fair share of leech depravations over the time”, Geoffrey, who was standing next to her on the roof of a house across a broad street from their target, replied silently.

The woman nodded, focusing her senses on the figures inside. “I’m counting seven leeches right now, but I don’t think I’m getting all of them – we’re too far away for that”, she mumbled after a moment.

The hunter nodded. “But they might sense us if we draw nearer – I wouldn’t have dared coming _this_ close already if not for Reid’s statement earlier. It’s time for your shadow-veil, I’m afraid”, he stated.

“Aye. You’ll wait here for me? I might need some time, I wanted to have a closer look at possible entry and exit points while I’m at it”, Julia retorted.

The man only inclined his head, watching as Julia vanished in front of his eyes and focusing his senses on the surrounding buildings afterwards. _There’s no one on the streets, despite the epidemic finally getting better_ , he pondered. _Either the neighbours have realised something’s going on and are careful, or the leeches killed the entire block._ He shuddered. _Now THAT’S a frightening thought – never have seen any beasts so daring_. _If this theory is true, they MUST have some help to cover things up._ He tried to find any humans in the buildings nearby, but his endeavours went unsuccessful – possibly because they were out of his senses’ range, but then he should be able to feel at least something since he could sense the leeches in the house...

“I’m back”, Julia’s voice pulled the hunter from his thoughts.

“What did you find? Do you think they noticed your presence?”, Geoffrey enquired.

The woman shook her head. “Nah, don’t think so. I sensed thirteen leeches inside, most of them on the ground or the first floor. Only one of them is on the second storey, and I think it _might_ be our friend from the West End since this presence feels _somewhat_ like the one I know from the memories, but I am not entirely sure. I think it might be possible the third floor is completely reserved for him; would explain why the memories only contained two floors. I couldn’t see much of the second storey, however, since most of the window shutters were closed. There _were_ several opened windows on the first floor, and I think they might be using them as entry points”, she explained.

The hunter nodded in agreement. “Did you have a look at the other buildings surrounding the house? Did you sense any humans inside?”, he asked.

Julia’s face darkened at that. “Aye, I had a look at them. But I only found blood stains and corpses when I peeked through the windows, no sign of human live. How they manage to hide somethin’ in _this_ scale from the police and the newspapers is a mystery to me”, she stated darkly.

“Maybe they have help with covering it up”, the hunter muttered thoughtfully, before adding “We’ll hopefully find out tomorrow. But for now we should move out of here, before one of those beasts realises our presence”. Julia nodded in agreement, and the two of them headed towards their hideout to meet Jonathan.

* * *

As it turned out, Jonathan’s contact hadn’t known any news, but he had promised to keep his ears open. They used the rest of the night for a venture down into the canals, cleansing them from as many infected ekons and skals as they could. The doctor’s assistance proved as immensely helpful, his knowledge about the layouts of the tunnels surprising Julia and Geoffrey more than once. “Who’d have thought that fancy doctor leech gets his clothes dirty by venturing down there? And he must have been doing so more than once, considering his intel on the place”, the hunter pondered when Julia and he were back at their hideout and cleaning their clothes as best as they could in the small bathroom while the sun was slowly rising.

“Well, I guess he had to move _somehow_ through the city while the streets were packed with your men, Geoffrey, and he’s normally not relyin’ on the roofs ‘s far ‘s I have noticed. It also probably helps he knows the sewer skals”, Julia replied while scrubbing mud from her shoes. “Actually, I think those are one of the reasons he insisted of accompanying us, he’s fiercely protective about them for some reason”, she added thoughtfully.

“That’s true, I wonder what history they have…”, Geoffrey mused, giving his coat an energetic shake before hanging it on one of the hooks to let it dry off.

Julia shrugged. “I guess you’ll have to ask _him_ that, even though I’m not sure if he’ll give you an answer to that”. She yawned. “But let’s get over with that bloody cleaning, I’m feckin’ tired”, she added, giving the shoe she had just cleaned an assessing look. The man nodded at that, and they went to bed shortly after.


	32. An Uneasy Alliance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, let's see how that cooperation of Priwen and our two hunters turns out, shall we?

Thomas sighed contently as he took a deep drag of his cigarette, the nicotine soothing his frail nerves at least somewhat. His anxiety didn’t lessen much, however, but then he didn’t expect it to – he was not standing in front of a house to wait for not only one but two leeches every night, after all. Especially not with the plan of them working together with him and his men. With another sigh he took a look at his pocket watch.

 _Ten minutes before seven o’clock. They should be showing up soon_ , he thought. He had been quite surprised when Esther had visited him this afternoon in the room where they had locked him in to tell him he was free to go and still very much their leader. His surprise had diminished somewhat when she told him they found Joseph and Gibbs being snitches, the latter one being one of the guards who was in charge of Priwen’s armoury. _We’re lucky Rob is as handy with weapons as he is, otherwise this attack would have been a disaster_, Priwen’s leader pondered, taking another drag of his cigarette. The bald captain had started to check the weapons and ammunition as soon as they had found out about Gibbs’ involvement, unearthing several tempered weapons while doing so. The captain still had a lot more to check and since they couldn’t be entirely sure if any other of the guards had also been charmed by the bloody leech, they couldn’t just delegate it to other guards without watching them closely, but the already checked weapons would do for this fight. _Wonder if chaplain Steele got anything from them, yet_. The chaplain had already got some information from Joseph which had led them to Gibbs, but other than that both Joseph and Gibbs didn’t even seem to know what they had been doing – a trick of the leech that had charmed them, indubitably.

Thomas had just started to muse for what felt like the hundredths time about possibilities to check if the mesmerisation was still holding on the men when they ended the leech as a sudden, low whooshing sound and the guard next to him tensing made him turn around. Some metres from him and the two guards accompanying him Geoffrey had appeared, his hands raised. “May I approach, or will you shoot me if I do?”, the ekon asked carefully.

“That’s the bloody point of me waiting for you here, Geoffrey, so move your arse”, Thomas retorted, his right hand lying on the hilt of his gun while he dropped his cigarette and grinded it under his heel. “Where’s your new girlfriend? I thought she’d be accompanying you?”, the blonde man enquired while Geoffrey stepped closer, slowly lowering his hands.

The vampire sighed at that. “I’ve already told you that Julia’s not my girl. We’re just… friends. But she _is_ accompanying me, indeed”, he retorted. “She’s scouting the area right now, we want to make sure there’s no other leech around. And since she can turn invisible and I can’t…”.

Thomas raised his eyebrows at that. “You can’t?”, he asked.

The ekon shook his head. “No. She tried to teach me, but I just didn’t get the knack of it. Was the same for her when I tried to teach her my blood shield – we’ve got no idea why this is so, but I guess we’ll have to deal with it”, he replied with a shrug.

The other man nodded thoughtfully. “I guess we’ll have to wait for that she-beast then, since you leeches will need someone who allows you to enter the house”, he said with a smirk. His conversation partner gave him a sad smile at that, but didn’t comment, tucking his hands into his coat pockets as they waited.

“They’ve let you out, then? I have to admit, I am surprised. Wouldn’t have expected them to trust me that much, even if they agreed on working together”, Geoffrey enquired after some moments.

“Obviously”, Thomas replied curtly, eyeing the streets and roofs for any signs of Leigh.

“I guess you’re not going to indulge me why they changed their mind?”, the ekon asked further.

“You’re guessing correctly. And I’d appreciate it if you’d stop asking. You’re still a leech”, Thomas stated flatly. The other man sighed at that but didn’t object.

“Did you really expect him to answer that question?”, a female voice suddenly enquired from above, a female figure landing in front of them directly after, causing the guards to tense and cock their weapons at her.

“You really should’ve warned them of your approach, Julia – they could’ve shot you. They actually almost did”, Geoffrey berated the woman.

The female ekon rolled her eyes at that. “Or _you_ could have warned them, Geoffrey, don’t tell me you didn’t sense me before”, she replied while raising her hands.

Thomas listened to their bickering quietly while he assessed the female ekon curiously. She wore the same battered trench coat as she had done when he first saw her in the Ascalon club, alongside with dark trousers and a grey blouse. He could see the outline from a crossbow hidden under the coat, but despite this fact he would never have thought of her as a threat if not for his years of training to never let his guard down if facing a leech. In fact, she seemed to be totally unremarkable despite her conspicuous appearance. _Odd. Normally leeches tend to stick out, even if most people wouldn’t realise the reasons. But then it’s the same with Geoffrey as it is with her. Wonder why this is_ , Thomas thought with a frown.

“Enough of this. You two are not here for your enjoyment and we have more important matters to discuss than your bickering. If you would follow me”, the blonde man interrupted the ekons as Geoffrey began his response to Leigh’s previous comment. His friend inclined his head at that, and Thomas holstered his gun, waving his men to follow suit, while heading towards the door of the outpost. He couldn’t help but feel a mixture of dark satisfaction and sadness at once when both ekons stopped at the doorstep, obviously unable to move inside. “Come in – but be warned: if any of you steps with so much of a toe out of line, we’ll have your head”, he finally sighed – they needed to discuss their strategy for the fight, after all, and they couldn’t do so with a main part of the hunting party lurking outside the building.

Both ekons nodded silently their agreement at that before finally stepping inside. They followed Thomas and the guards upstairs, moving in complete silence and not even causing the old wooden stair to creak. _Creepy. If there’s anything that gives a leech safely away besides seeing them burning in the sun, then it’s how they move. Too silent, too elegant_ , the blonde man pondered as he reached the tread, following the narrow corridor into the largest room of the house where Robert was waiting for them together with several guards, all men being assembled around a desk with a larger version of the map Leigh had drawn.

“At least you’re on time”, the bald captain grumbled as soon as they stepped into the room.

“What’s your plan? Did your scouting during daylight bring any news? What about the residents? Have you arranged the streets to be blocked?”, Geoffrey enquired, completely ignoring the daggers Robert was glaring at him.

“We still know how to do our bloody job, _leech_ , thank you very much”, the man replied, before frowning. “We ‘ave tried to contact the residents during the day, but our calls went unanswered at all ‘ouses close to the target. Boys managed to break in into some ‘f them an’ found only corpses”, he explained with dark expression.

Thomas could see Leigh and Geoffrey exchanging a knowing look, before the male ekon replied “That fits to our observations, then. Neither me nor Julia could make out anyone beside leeches in any of the buildings. I’d assume they must have some severe back-up in the higher ranks of police and possibly the newspapers, otherwise word _would_ ’ve come out. Even with the epidemic going on”.

Priwen’s leader nodded at that, exchanging a glance with Robert. “We’re thinking along the same line, then. Esther managed to arrange a blockade of the streets without contacting the police, we wanted to avoid word getting to the bloody beasts by whoever their contacts are. But could you find out how many of them exactly we will be facing?”.

Leigh nodded hesitantly at that, speaking up as she caught his enquiring glance. “I’ve counted thirteen leeches last night, one of them probably Warner. Their numbers could’ve changed somewhat, though, since I think it’s likely not all of them were in last night and we also know that they’re fighting each other regularly”, she explained.

“Thirteen!? Bloody hell”, one of the guards in Thomas back breathed horrified.

“Most of them are likely newborns”, Geoffrey tried to reassure him, before adding “They might be able to coordinate their attacks by the maker-progeny bond, though, we will have to watch out for that”.

“Duly noted. Did you find anything else?”, Thomas replied. Again, it was Julia who nodded, the female ekon slowly moving towards the map lying on the desk.

“May I? I’m not trying to draw a weapon, I swear”, she enquired. Robert made an inviting gesture and the woman fumbled shortly in her coat pockets before unearthing a well-used pen. “They’ve boarded up the windows on the ground floor and the window shutters of the second storey were closed, but they had opened several windows on the first storey”, she started to explain, before marking several windows on the map the men had added after their scouting. “Last night, the windows I’ve marked here on the map were not only free to look in but also opened. I’d guess they’re usin’ them as entry and exit points, especially since each of those would enable them to jump on one of the surrounding houses without too much trouble. Most of the leeches were on the ground or the first floor, only the beast which’s probably Warner was in the third storey. I think he likely reserved it for himself, since the leech I’ve drained in the canals didn’t have any memories of the third floor and I could imagine him wantin’ to stay clear from the chaos downstairs. Geoffrey and I could also see already from across the street that the walls and floors inside were blood stained, they must’ve practically bathed in it. The smell in there must be absolutely overwhelming, keepin’ them constantly thirsty and blood crazed. Makes it rather hard to think properly in my experience. It’ll also make it harder for them to sense you ‘s long as they’re inside, even though I doubt that’ll be of much use since it won’t hide your presence completely”, she went on.

Robert gave her a curious look, before enquiring “Anythin’ else?”

Leigh shook her head. “No. I didn’t have a look at it tonight, though, didn’t want to spoil any plans of yours by doing so. I could do that before the attack, if you want me to. I must warn you, however – while my shadow veil manages to trick most beasts, it’s not completely reliable when encountering more powerful leeches. There’s always a residual risk that they’ll sense me”.

“Still, knowing their exact numbers would help us immensely – we have already intercepted three leeches on the streets who went out just after sundown, but there is no way to tell if that means there’re only ten of them left inside or not. I’d suggest we do this…”, Thomas started, a tiring, if short discussion of their strategy following afterwards. Finally, they agreed on a slightly modified version of one of the plans that had already been discussed during daylight in the headquarters.

“Very well. I’ll do some scouting, then, and meet Mister bald-head at the meeting point we agreed on”, Julia confirmed.

Robert shot her a dark look at that, but didn’t further comment on her name-calling, stating instead “I’ll radio everythin’ ‘s soon as we’re in place. Jus’ see that you keep our other pet-leech in check”. Thomas could see Geoffrey rolling his eyes, but he nodded alongside him his agreement.

Thomas and his guards went to the men stationed nearby the outpost, Geoffrey tagging along. The blonde man could see the men watching their former leader warily as they settled themselves down to wait on Robert’s signal, but none of them did more than flinch slightly accompanied with occasional movements of their hands to their weapons. Geoffrey reacted to none of this but sat quietly down onto the load bed of one of the lorries Priwen used, even though Thomas could tell he was holding himself back from speaking to them.

 _Seems I’m not the only one who feels a need to talk, but this is not the time. Hell, we shouldn’t even speak with him at all. But then things might not be always as simple as Carl taught us_, he thought with a sigh, sitting down on the seat of the radio car – the second one of the two Priwen possessed right now, the other one being used by Robert. They spent the next few minutes in silence, some of the men smoking and making the ekon’s nose twitch in obvious unease. _Wonder how that smells to leech senses – it certainly never bothered him before, even though he was one of the few men I know who never smoked_ , Thomas pondered. Then, finally, his radio sprang to life, Robert contacting them.

“We’re in position. The she-beast claims to have sensed 14 leeches inside, eight downstairs an’ five on the firs’ floor. Our main target’s still on the third storey. Windows are set like last night”, the captain’s voice sounded out of Thomas’ headphones as soon as he had confirmed the connection.

“Roger. We’ll move in, then”, Priwen’s leader replied.

“Roger. See you on the other side”, Robert’s voice sounded from the device.

“It’s time for a hunt”, Thomas called out while removing the uncomfortable device from his head, the men starting the lorries, the vehicles bringing them to their target as fast as possible.

* * *

The timing was almost perfect, lorries filled with guards and weapons surrounding the house from each point possible in almost perfect coordination. The men swarmed out as soon as the vehicles had stopped, taking their positions and readying their weapons. Then, after a hand signal one of the men at the sides of the house gave to tell everyone was in position, Thomas signalled them silently to start the assault. Without any hesitation, smoke grenades designed to hurt vampires were thrown, most of them landing inside the house through the opened windows of the first floor. _That’ll hopefully burn them out_ , Thomas thought, while grabbing his flamethrower more tightly. And, indeed, he soon could make out movement in the smoke just before the first leech emerged.

The next few minutes were filled with constant fighting as more and more ekons emerged from the windows of the house. Just as Geoffrey and Julia had predicted, most of the beasts didn’t even try to flee but engaged into a fight as soon as they spotted the men attacking them. In fact, Thomas saw only one leech which was trying to get away by jumping on a roof of the surrounding houses, but the beast was almost immediately stopped by shadows grabbing it, shortly after followed by a bolt piercing its heart – Leigh’s handiwork, he supposed. Much to their surprise, the vampire’s attacks did not seem to be coordinated in any way, however, despite Geoffrey’s grim prophecies.

 _Our main target also doesn’t seem to have shown up yet, at least neither Geoffrey nor Leigh gave any signal – I wonder what that bloody beast is up to_ , Thomas pondered worriedly, only barely avoiding a claw strike by firing flames into his attacker’s face which sent the beast tumbling back while screeching in agony. Much to his dismay, however, the fire stopped shortly after, the leech in front of him baring its teeth in feral malice as it realised the burning to be gone. _Shit, bad timing to be out of fuel. Should have known that it wouldn’t hold much longer after using it on two other beasts already._ Without a second thought, Thomas dropped the flamethrower to the ground – refilling mid-fight would take too long – and drew his pistol, only barely avoiding the beast’s claw while doing so.

 _Damn. Hand-to-hand combat with leeches is never wise, but with these infected ones every bite could be my end._ One of the men nearby shot at his opponent, but the bullet only graced the beast’s shoulder, making it barely flinch and most other men surrounding him were entangled into other fights. The short pause the bullet had caused was enough for Thomas to aim his weapon, however, his round hitting the monster into its chest but missing the heart. Cursing silently, the blonde man started to ready one of the smoke grenades since the beast wasn’t surrounded by men right now, but before he was able to throw it, his opponent shadow-stepped right in front of him, fangs bared and ready to dig into his neck.

The expected pain never came, however, since the beast bounced back on a blood shield that was suddenly surrounding Thomas. _What the hell?_ , he wondered, taking a moment to have a look at his surroundings. He almost immediately spotted Geoffrey, who had been constantly moving from one point to another to save as many men from getting too close to any of the infected beasts and pulling the men back in time so they’d avoid getting hit by any blood spears or shadows summoned by the ekons. Geoffrey was busy fighting another leech nearby, the beast already bleeding from several wounds. His eyes were on Thomas before flickering back to his opponent, however, his hand raised in a way Priwen’s leader knew only too well from previous fights with leeches when those had raised a blood shield. _I never thought it possible they could use those bloody things to guard another person_ , he thought in wonder before he recollected himself and finally threw the smoke grenade into the leech’s direction, warning the surrounding men about it with a shout. The weapon had the desired effect, disorientating and hurting the beast immediately after releasing the for vampires toxic smoke and enabling Thomas to finally finish the leech off by shooting its head.

“That should’ve been the last of them, at least on our side of the house”, Geoffrey’s voice sounded, the beheaded body of the ekon’s opponent falling onto the ground. “There’s no trace of Warner, however, and I doubt Julia has…”, he went on, just as a shout from behind made him turn around.

“Warner’s fleeing!”, Leigh’s voice cried out, the woman just rounding the corner of the house.

And indeed, a single figure in upper-scale clothes was emerging from a now opened window in the second storey of the house, shadow-jumping onto the roof of a nearby building immediately. Much to the beast’s misfortune, Priwen had anticipated such a possibility and one of the traps they had placed on several roofs of the anyway empty houses went off, its toxic smoke sending the leech stumbling and falling down onto the ground. Before any of the guards could move so much as a finger, however, shadows were already grabbing the monster, holding it tightly in place despite all its struggles. The stalling of its movements was immediately used by Geoffrey, who shadow-stepped behind Warner, grabbed his head to bare his neck and dug his fangs into the beast’s throat. Thomas shuddered slightly at the feral look of his friend and readied his weapon in case Geoffrey wouldn’t manage to take enough to end his opponent.

“You won’t need this – Geoffrey won’t stop until he’s got everything if he isn’t forced to and that bloody beast won’t be able to wriggle out of his grip and my shadows at once anytime soon”, Leigh said from his side, moving slowly towards him with her eyes focused on Warner and holding her clenched fist raised.

“I’d rather be prepared, nevertheless”, the blonde man stated, his eyes only shortly flickering to the woman before locking on the other two ekons again.

“Your decision”, Leigh said indifferently, even though Thomas thought he heard a hint of a strain in her voice. Geoffrey’s feeding didn’t take much longer, however, the emptied carcass of Warner sliding to the ground as he was done, Leigh’s shadows releasing it. Much to his surprise, Geoffrey followed it directly after, however, dropping on his knees and grabbing his temples with an agonized scream. Worriedly, Thomas stepped closer to his friend as a hard arm in front of his chest stopped him. “ **Don’t approach him, wait ‘til he’s back to his senses** ”, Julia’s sharp voice sounded loudly with a slight hint of a command behind it – not enough to really force any of the guards to do anything, especially since she would need to focus on a single target for that instead of calling out generally, but certainly sufficient to make them hesitate.

“What in god’s name is wrong with him – I’ve never seen a leech reacting to blood like that!?”, Thomas enquired agitatedly, glancing at the woman next to him whose arm was still resting on his chest.

“’s the infected blood and the memories comin’ with it, they’re overwhelming him”, she explained, her gaze not moving from Geoffrey who was still wriggling on the ground. “We’re immune to the infection thanks to Jonathan’s antidote, but the initial contact with the memories is still… unpleasant, and I wouldn’t be sure if he’d manage to _not_ attack you right now if you’d approach him. That’s the reason why we usually try to avoid this and also why I stopped you drawing any nearer to him”. She frowned. “It’s taking unusually long, though, and I also don’t remember havin’ such a strong reaction to the blood ever before. I wonder…”, she started worriedly before she suddenly stiffed, sniffing the air. “Bollox!”, she cursed before she vanished from Thomas’ side, only leaving a small puff of black smoke behind.

“What the…”, the blonde man started, glancing around but finding no trace of her. Before he could start searching in earnest, however, the sound of Geoffrey cursing extensively in Irish stopped him.

A glance back showed the ekon to be back on his feet, even though he was still grabbing his right temple and swaying slightly as if feeling dizzy. “Are you alright? You’re not going to attack us, are you?”, Thomas enquired.

Geoffrey glanced at him at that, before shaking his head. “I’m fine, it’s just… while that bloody leech wasn’t really powerful, it still was _old_. At least 300 years as far as I can tell, and I’ve not even really started sorting through its memories”, he stated, closing his eyes with a barely controlled expression. After a moment, he opened them again, his gaze now sharp. “I’m afraid things are even worse than we thought, and I doubt I’ve got everything. We must immediately…”, he started, before his gaze snapped up. “Ah. I see Julia already took care of that”, he stated.

“What are you talkin’ about, beast? And what exactly ‘as _that_ been before?”, Robert’s voice sounded from behind the ekon, the bald captain having arrived just after Geoffrey had finished draining Warner.

“Recoil from the memories I’ve got from Warner. I can explain it later; we need to get into the house right now. Bloody beast has several documents in his study that might be interesting, but he tried to burn all of them when the fight started – that’s the reason he needed so much time before he fled. I can sense Julia in his room, however, and the smell of smoke in the air is minimal, so I guess she’s taking care of it. Still, we should hurry just in case he did anything I missed”, Geoffrey explained.

“An’ how do we know you’re not leadin’ us into a trap?”, Robert enquired.

The ekon rolled his eyes at that. “Seriously, Rob, don’t you think I wouldn’t have done so by now if that’d be my intention?”, he asked. “Speaking of traps, though – there’re several inside the building and none of the doors is safe to enter right now. I’ll need to head in and dismantle at least some of them before any of you can enter safely”, he went on.

“Do that, then”, Thomas commanded with a curt nod. Geoffrey inclined his head at that, vanishing through one of the windows of the first storey with a small puff of black smoke.

“You really believe that bloody leech?”, Robert enquired, stepping next to Thomas.

The blonde man nodded. “Yes, Rob. He just saved the lives of several men in this fight, including mine. It’s undoubtedly healthy to not entirely trust him, but only until a certain point and I don’t see what he’d get by first saving us and then leading us into a trap directly after”, he stated.

The captain nodded thoughtfully at that. “You’ve got a point there, Tom. But I’m still gonna keep an eye on you two”, he said warningly.

“That’s reasonable”, Thomas agreed, ordering the men to him with a gesture, assigning several groups to take care of the wounded, gather the corpses and scout the area for more leeches while keeping some of them with him and Robert to enter the house. Just as he was done, the main door of the building opened, revealing Geoffrey in its frame.

“It’s safe enough to enter now, even though there’re still many traps active so you’ll have to be careful. I had a short word with Julia and she said she’s got the fire under control, so we can take our time”, he called out. Thomas nodded in acknowledgement, gesturing his men to follow him before stepping into the house.

* * *

Geoffrey still felt somewhat light-headed from the intense experience of centuries worth of memories flooding his mind, but he tried his best to hide it while talking to Thomas and Robert. He felt almost relieved when Thomas ordered him to head inside the house, even though he knew the air inside wouldn’t be welcoming to his nose. Or maybe a little bit too welcoming, in fact. He shadow-jumped through one of the windows on the first storey without hesitation, nevertheless, holding his breath as soon as he was inside. The blood stains on floor, walls and furniture were overwhelming his sight for a moment, but the burning sensation caused by the residual smoke of the grenades the men had thrown made him move briskly, opening up as many windows as he could without having to disarm any of the small wires that were guarding some of them.

The fresh air helped the smoke to dissipate somewhat and Geoffrey hoped it would be gone entirely when the men moved up here – while it wasn’t as toxic for humans as it was for vampires (as his burning skin would tell anyone), it still caused coughing and occasionally itchy rashes upon longer exposure; there were reasons Priwen tried to avoid getting caught inside the smoke after all. He went to the door of the flat afterwards and moved upstairs, stopping at the door of the single flat up there and taking a deep breath, the strain of holding it so long finally dissipating. “Julia!?”, he called out, getting rewarded by a muffled “What is it?”.

“Did you manage to stop the fire?”, Geoffrey enquired, even though he could guess the answer since he smelled next to no smoke.

“Aye, it was still small and the water from my bottles sufficed. I’m sortin’ through the papers right now”, Julia called back.

“Good. We’ll come in shortly, but I’ll need to disarm some traps before I can let anyone in – please stay where you are in the meantime, the door and the windows are riddled with traps”, the hunter replied.

“I’ll be busy here for a while anyway, so take your time”, the female ekon retorted, silence falling afterwards.

Satisfied, Geoffrey went downstairs, first holding his breath again. As he carefully stepped over a body lying in the middle of the living room of the lowest flat, he took a shuddering breath, however. He would need to talk to his men to show them the traps and to warn them of what was lying beneath the corpse, after all, so he reckoned he’d better get used to the smell beforehand. He was lucky to have done so. The heavy smell of blood, some of it quite stale, hit him badly, his vision turning grey for a while, only the blood surrounding him glowing red in his sight. _Bloody hell_ , he cursed inwardly, taking another breath. Slowly, very slowly his sight returned to normal and after almost a minute Geoffrey felt confident enough to move on, dismantling the traps at the doors before opening the front door. He could see Thomas and Robert standing next to Warner’s corpse, some of the men surrounding them while the others were swarming out.

“It’s safe enough to enter now, even though there’re still many traps active so you’ll have to be careful. I had a short word with Julia and she said she’s got the fire under control, so we can take our time”, he called out. He could see his blonde friend nodding, taking several guards and Robert with him as he followed them into the building.

“By god”, Thomas whispered behind Geoffrey as soon as they went inside. “What did they _do_ in here!? I’d expect as much blood as this when dealing with vulkods, but not when handling ekons!”, he breathed.

“Most of it is leech blood, actually – they had a lot of fights in here. The smell is still overwhelming, it must’ve driven them crazy. Which was the purpose of leaving it here”, Geoffrey muttered gravely, turning around. “Don’t worry, it’s manageable for me, I’m not going to attack you. Wouldn’t be inside with you if it wasn’t, and having fed recently certainly helps”, he added as he saw his friend’s alarmed expression, before moving on into the living room. “The windows down here are all wired, you’ll want to disarm that. And I need Miller over here”, he went on, gesturing towards the corpse in the middle of the room.

“Why?”, said man enquired, stepping forward from the men surrounding him.

“Because you’re able to dismantle explosives, as far as I’m aware, and the one under this corpse is big enough to kill everyone in the room”, Geoffrey replied matter-of-factly, crouching down towards the carcass.

“Explosives in this amount? That ain’t makin’ sense, they’d have blown up themselves if those go off!”, Robert exclaimed, alarmed.

Geoffrey shook his head. “It wouldn’t have been enough that the explosion itself harms Warner and the leech trusted his speed enough to flee in time to avoid any aftermath. It would’ve certainly killed many of his progeny, but he didn’t care about them; they were tools to achieve a goal, expendable. That’s also the reason why he never intervened when they fought among themselves – he wanted only the best fighters to survive”, the ekon explained.

“As far as I’ve gathered from the memories the mechanism shouldn’t be too complicated, but it’s designed to go off as soon as the corpse is moved too much, so I’ll have to hold it while you work”, he stated directed at Miller. The man gave him a curt nod at that, inhaling sharply as Geoffrey lifted the body as slightly as he could, revealing the charge beneath just enough for the man to work. It took a while, but finally the explosive device was dismantled, the other men having used the time to work on the wires at the windows. They went on slowly afterwards, taking their time to disable most of the traps on their way. “You’ll want to burn these corpses, all of them were infected. They’re not going to stand up again, however, I’ve already took a closer look at them and my senses would’ve warned me if they would”, Geoffrey uttered. He could see Robert eyeing him sceptically, but both he and Thomas gave him a nod. “The documents are upstairs, as is Julia – the door’s wired, however, I’ll have to talk her through the dismantling process before we can open it”, he went on. Again, both the bald captain as well as the leader of the guard nodded, they and the men following the ekon upstairs.

“Julia!? We’re done downstairs for now, but I’ll need you to dismantle the trap at the door before we can come in – I can talk you through it”, Geoffrey called out when they reached the door.

“Alright, I’ll be there in a moment”, Julia’s voice sounded back, her outlines moving towards them shortly after.

“You’ll better hold your breath when we open it and move back into the makeshift study, the smell here is overwhelming”, Geoffrey warned her before starting to explain the mechanism to her. It didn’t take long for the woman to work and to open the door, vanishing with a poof of smoke into another room directly afterwards. Geoffrey and the guards followed her more slowly, the ekon sighing in relief as one of the men closed the door behind them, blocking out most of the smell. The constant exposure had sent his fangs itching despite him being still fully sated from Warner and he reckoned the sole reason he had managed to keep such a tight control was the fact that a considerable amount of the blood had been old enough to make the smell sickening. He led the guards towards the study, knowing that they would find the interesting things there.

Thomas was greeted by the curious sight of Leigh sitting in midst of several stacks of papers, most of them slightly charred at their edges as he stepped inside what looked like a makeshift study. “I could save most of it, even though the ones he used to start the fire are gone”, the woman stated, glancing up shortly before resuming her reading.

“What are they about?”, the blonde man enquired, glancing around.

“Mostly business papers ‘s far ‘s I can tell – balances, transactions, that kind of thing. There’re several documents needed for a takeover though, and those are for several companies. Whoever’s behind this, they got an awful amount of money workin’ here, and they’re working via different shareholders ‘s far as I can tell. Don’t think Warner is behind this, though, many of the things here are carbons – maybe he checked the books for our puppet master”, the female ekon explained absent-mindedly, obviously busy with skimming through the document lying on her lap.

“I wasn’t aware you’re that familiar with things like this”, Geoffrey’s surprised voice sounded from Thomas side, the male ekon examining the bookshelf at the wall.

Leigh sighed at that. “They expected me to be the heir of a _company_ , Geoffrey, of course my custodian made sure I learned the ropes. The sole reason I had private lessons instead of being sent off to some bloody boarding school was my aunt intervening after I’ve cried myself into sleep when they wanted to do send me away”, she stated with an eye-roll.

Thomas stored that new piece of knowledge about Leigh silently away before enquiring “What companies are the documents about?”

“I think I’d better make you a list, or you let one of your men do that, there’s plenty and I also don’t have a good overview yet – Warner didn’t have the courtesy of leaving the papers sorted while trying to burn them”, the woman replied.

“I’ll have Esther to take a look at them, then – that kind of stuff is right her thing, after all”, Thomas said with a sigh.

“Maybe Geoffrey could help us, too? You _did_ get the leeches, memories, didn’t you?”, Leigh replied, giving the other ekon who was still standing at the bookshelf a sharp look.

“I did”, the man replied with grim face. “And I’ll tell you anything I know soon, but this will take some time and I want to be at a safe location, first. Also, some things should be kept from too many prying ears”, he went on.

“Good”, Thomas stated with a nod, stopping as Leigh’s head suddenly snapped up.

“What are you doing here!?”, the woman enquired, her gaze unfocused.

“Who..!?”, Thomas asked, reaching for his weapon in alarm, several men following suit.

“Nimrod”, the woman replied curtly, her gaze still unfocused.

“That’s her maker. He must be contacting her”, Geoffrey, who was studying her intently, explained quietly. “There’s no use in trying to talk to her now, you’re lucky she reacted at all. She certainly didn’t when the same happened at Ascalon”, he went on.

Robert scoffed at that. “Don’t tell me she’s talkin’ to the beast via that mysterious _mind connection_. Also, didn’t you claim she doesn’t know her maker’s identity?”, he stated.

Geoffrey shrugged. “Believe what you want, Rob, but you won’t get her to engage in any conversation right now. And whilst we didn’t know about his identity in the beginning, we _did_ have some success with our research the last few nights”, he said calmly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seems the fight went rather smoothly, and even without Priwen attacking the two nemrods or Julia and Geoffrey accidently hurting one of the guards because they were bleeding in the wrong moment - will wonders ever cease?


	33. Secrets Unfolding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time that _finally_ some of our foe's plans are revealed, isn't it?

Whilst listening to the conversation between the Priwen guards and Geoffrey, Julia just tried to wrap her head around an especially nasty sentence, biting back her thirst that was itching in her throat since the fights had taken their toll and the weak scent coming from downstairs mad matters only worse, as the sudden feeling of a familiar presence nearby made her head snap up. _That can’t be…_ , she thought with alarm. And right as she thought that, the presence vanished again, even though Julia had been clearly feeling Nimrod close enough that he had to be standing on a rooftop of a neighbouring building. “What are you doing here!?”, she enquired sharply, trying to find the presence again.

**_Your senses have obviously grown sharper, Childe. Good._** , he maker’s voice sounded inside her head.

_That doesn’t answer my question,_ “Nimrod”, she replied, saying the last word aloud to get Geoffrey’s friend off her back.

**_It seems we were pursuing the same target and you were faster than I was_** , her maker answered.

_You pursued Warner, too, then? Why? What do you know of him? _

**_He is involved with the blood drinker which attacked my youngest brother, as well as with several other incidents in the city. Since you seem to be accompanied by Priwen – an interesting if dangerous development withal, you must tell me more about this when we meet face-to-face – you are probably aware of the attacks on the hunters he supervised. I am not sure if your new friends are aware of the pawns he placed inside their organisation, however. You should warn them about it if not. I do not know their identity, unfortunately, so they will need to make some investigations on their own._ **

_They know. But you seem to have an awful amount of intelligence_ , Julia thought mistrustingly.

**_I have not been idle during the last few nights, Childe, and I am investigating the machinations of this foe for several weeks already. The excellent antidote Dr Reid made also proved to be very helpful._ **

“If you’ve known all along, why didn’t you intervene earlier, you bloody wanker!? Isn’t killing off leeches what you’re about, or did my grandpa get that wrong!?”, Julia exclaimed furiously.

**_While I might have been aware about some of our foe’s machinations, I did not know of all of them, or their scope. You would do good to refrain from rash accusations, Childe_** , Nimrod replied scornfully, the ire carrying with his words making the huntress flinch. **_Priwen was not the only organisation attacked and I was too occupied with keeping the brotherhood safe since our foe managed to keep their usual way of dealing with things like that busy_** , he went on, his thoughts holding less anger now. ** _The fact I had to hunt down several of the remaining Ascalon members after the torments they put you through also didn’t help – but I have to warn you about them. It would seem the club also had been targeted, their members being either killed or infected with the blood of hate. I assume these incidents caused the Earl of Bristol to jump to conclusions when he encountered you. I cannot claim the end of these depraved creatures leads me to shed a single tear, but we played unwittingly into our enemy’s hands when we ended most of the remaining club. He plays the game of politics and economy better than I would have anticipated and you will need to move fast. Tell your new associates to pull all strings in the politics they have, they will be looking for the machinations of a Mr Legrand who is closely associated with the Billow family since he claims to have healed their daughter of her unfortunate affliction. The documents you have retrieved will probably tell you the rest needed_**, he explained.

_Legrand is the name of our puppet master then? You’re finally telling me his name? Do you know where the bloody beast hides?_ , Julia enquired.

**_I have already told you not to care too much about names when it comes to immortals, Childe. Legrand is the name he took for his recent machinations, but he will be known by another one by the people who still remember him. Talk to my brother. A recent encounter of someone I believed to be dead makes me think the doctor will know the things you need, and you will want to have as much information as possible on our foe when you tell Priwen about his previous name. I do not know about Legrand’s whereabouts, however; the dragon has hidden his den well. I would already have payed him a visit otherwise, and we wouldn’t be in the need of having this conversation._ **

_I see. Oddly enough, I even believe you. Will you tell me if you find out where he hides? I think Jonathan as well as Geoffrey have to settle a score and I also want to see that beast being gone. _

**_I will see about that. Legrand is a most dangerous foe as you are surely aware by now, and while the three of you are promising younglings, you are still neonates. I will certainly tell you if I destroyed him and you might even get the revenge you seek since I apprehend we will need to divide our forces to stop all of his machinations in time._ **

_That’s the best you’ll give me, isn’t it?_ , Julia asked with a quiet sigh.

**_Indeed. I am going to end this conversation now, if you don’t mind, listening to your thoughts starts to get straining. I will be in touch._ **

_Wait, did you just actually END a conversation properly instead of just cutting it off? I’m baffled!_

**_If you’re impressed that easily, your every-day life must be full of wonders, Childe_** , Nimrod replied dryly.

Julia scoffed at that. “Very funny”, she mumbled. _But thank you for the information, I guess._

**_You’re welcome._ **

With that, Julia felt him withdraw. _Curious – in the beginning I never knew if he’d resume talking or not. Wonder if this new development is his doing or if I’m getting more sensitive for this kind of things_ , she pondered, only now realising that the whole room was staring at her. “Erm… Did Geoffrey explain what just happened?”, she asked awkwardly, suddenly aware that she had been talking to thin air several times, at least in their books.

“He said you were… ‘talking’ to Nimrod, your maker”, Geoffrey’s blonde friend replied with narrowed eyes.

Julia nodded. “Aye. I’ve sensed him nearby, and…”

“You’ve _sensed_ him? Where!?”, Robert, the bald captain on whose side she had been fighting before, enquired alarmed.

The female ekon shrugged. “Close, but not inside the building. He vanished before I could pinpoint his location more accurately, though”, she explained.

“Since you were… distracted for quite a while, I assume your conversation went more successfully?”, Priwen’s leader enquired.

“It did”, Julia replied, sighing as she realised they wouldn’t be satisfied before she explained everything to them in every single detail. “It is quite some story, though – I don’t mind tellin’ you here, but I don’t know if it’d be wise to linger that long since we’ll need to bring those documents into safety”.

“An’ how do we know that beast that turned you won’t be lurkin’ in the shadows outside to prey on us!?”, Robert asked agitatedly.

“You don’t. Even I don’t since I don’t think I’m always capable of sensing him if he doesn’t want me to, even if he’s close by. He _was_ close by when we first met at the Ascalon club however, since he warned me that you were approaching, and he didn’t attack you back then ‘s far as I’m aware. Regarding to the information we’ve gathered he also shares Geoffrey’s and mine feeding habits, but then I’d never be sure about things like that when it comes to leeches”, Julia replied dryly. She could see several guards frown at that, but finally Thomas nodded.

“I assume we’ll have to live with that. But I want to hear _every_ detail about this ‘Nimrod’ and your conversation with him later on, leech”, he said firmly.

Julia smirked slightly at that. “As if you’d know if I’m lyin’ to you or leavin’ things out. But I’m actually fine with telling you everything, ’s up to you if you believe it, though”.

“Good. We should get moving, then – one of the patrols reported the police has taken an interest due to the noises and we want to be gone when the reinforcements they’re surely going to call as soon as they realise the blockage was not approved arrive”, Thomas stated, turning to his men. “See that you get all of the documents into the lorries, including the books. Geoffrey, I want you to bring the corpses from downstairs outside, you’re faster than any of us. Put them onto one of the lorries, we will take care of them. Leigh, I need you to scout the area, I need most of the men to be gone soon and I don’t want to get any nasty surprises by a stray leech or this Nimrod while we clean out the house. If you could warn us if you see police approaching, that’d be helpful, too”, Thomas ordered. Both ekons gave him an acknowledging nod.

“The only other room showing any signs of recent use in this storey was the bedroom down the corridor, maybe you’ll want to have a look at that, too”, Leigh said, before vanishing through the window.

“He shouldn’t have left anything except some spare clothes there, but you probably better take a look on it anyway, since it’s always possible I’ve missed something”, Geoffrey added, leaving the rooms afterwards to follow his orders.

* * *

They had gathered all of the documents alongside with several books about vampire legends and a serious amount of money faster than Thomas had anticipated, the fact that Geoffrey managed to gather even the corpses from the surrounding houses in the meantime helping immensely.

“We meet at the old headquarters, I’d rather not be in the area at all when the police arrive”, Thomas said directed to Robert before he went together with Miller into one of the vehicles, Geoffrey hopping on the loading area in the back. They managed to get away without seeing so much as a trace of the authorities, much to Thomas’ surprise, and as they left the borough he finally relaxed, glancing at Geoffrey through the rear-view mirror with a smirk on his face. He could tell the ekon was relieved, too, even though his face still wore a grim expression. _Wonder what he found in that leech’s memories_ , Thomas wondered while carefully turning into the larger street that would lead them to Whitechapel. _Huh, and I wonder even more when exactly I’ve started to trust anything he says. I’ll have to talk to Rob and Esther about that, we need to make sure they didn’t get into our heads._

They took advantage of Geoffrey’s former office as soon as they arrived, Thomas sending most of the guards alongside with anything they had gathered to the new headquarters – Geoffrey had insisted on some of his information being sensitive, after all, and the blonde man reckoned the ekons would’ve already made their move if they had been planning an attack on them. “So, tell me about this Nimrod”, Priwen’s leader started the conversation as soon as all of them were settled down. Leigh nodded, starting a long explanation of her findings and the conversations with her maker afterwards. “This Nimrod knows the identity of Warner’s associate, then? And there is really no way you can get his true name?”, Thomas enquired when she was done.

The female ekon shook her head. “I’m afraid not. I’m glad he told me what he did, actually – ’s the first time he was that forthcoming with information at all”.

“And he can listen to your thoughts any time? Could he be listening right now?”, the blonde man asked further, the idea of being overheard by another leech not sitting well with him at all.

The woman shrugged. “I s’pose he _could_ , even though I think I’m starting to feel it when he’s listening in. But then that could be just some trick of him. I doubt he’s listening right _now_ , though, since he said listening in is straining and _that_ I believe”, she explained.

“Why?”, Robert enquired from Thomas’ side, having leaned forward on his chair in rapt interest.

“Because… because of what he did in Ascalon”, Leigh replied, shifting on her seat uneasily.

“What, because he killed off those leeches?”, Thomas enquired, confused, but the woman already shook her head before he had ended the sentence.

“No. ’s just… when they… as I… when those bloody lights were burnin’ me in that feckin’ cellar, he… he kind of _protected_ me. My mind, I mean”. She swallowed, averting her gaze in obvious unease. “I can’t really explain it, but he kinda… _shielded_ my thoughts, stopped me from feeling the pain for a while”. She glanced up again. “I think it’d have driven me crazy if he hadn’t done so. He couldn’t maintain that for long, however, even though I _felt_ he wanted to, that’s the reason why I think he’s telling the truth when claiming it strains him”, she finished her explanations.

“I see”, Thomas said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. _A leech shielding his progeny from pain using some mind-to-mind connection – if someone had told me something like this some weeks ago, I’d have thought they’d be shitting me. But her words seem to be genuine and I don’t see the point for a lie here, not really. This truce could prove as an even more valuable source of information than I have thought – I’ll have to talk this through with Rob and Esther, however._ “Still, this connection sounds… risky – how do we know we’re not overheard right now?”, he finally stated.

“I might have an idea regarding that”, Geoffrey intercepted, having listened quietly until now, his concerned gaze never leaving Leigh as soon as she had started talking about Ascalon.

“Let’s hear it”, Thomas encouraged him.

“Warner had quite some knowledge of the ways for a leech to… _work_ with minds and while that leech himself was far from being powerful enough to establish a real mind-to-mind connection with his progeny, he _had_ been collecting knowledge about it for a while now. From what I’ve understood, it _should_ be possible to block the connection in a similar way as the way we are trained to shield our mind from leech influences”, the man started his explanation, his gaze flickering shortly to Robert and Thomas before locking on Julia again. “I could teach you the techniques we use – it will take some time as well as a lot of discipline and you have to be aware that it won’t grant you _complete_ security, but I think it’ll be worth the effort”.

“It won’t help in the slightest of hiding our conversation from her maker right now, however”, Thomas intercepted softly.

Geoffrey shot him a sharp look at that before shaking his head. “No. It won’t. But then all things we know about Nimrod speak against an involvement of him and he also already proved some of his views regarding leeches when he attacked Ascalon – I’d be more concerned about the snitches you have, if I were you”, he stated darkly.

Thomas narrowed his eyes at that. “What do you know about them? In fact, will you now _finally_ tell us what you’ve found in Warner’s memories? You made a fuss of it long enough, don’t you think?”, he enquired sharply.

The ekon took a deep breath at that, before finally nodding. “Aye, I’ll tell you. You _must_ promise, however, that you won’t start _any_ actions before I’ve told you everything – you need to be aware of the full situation”, he started his explanation. Both Robert and Thomas merely inclined their heads at that, latter one urging Geoffrey to go on with a wave of his hand. “As I mentioned before, Warner was already around for quite some time – he wasn’t of a very powerful bloodline, however, and the main reason he managed to avoid the first great hunt was that he was _very_ apt in staying off the grid. He did so mainly by manipulating other’s minds in a most masterful way – this was the reason Ascalon invited him when they rebuilt themselves after Priwen had almost managed to wipe most of the bloody beasts out” he explained, ruffling through his hair.

“Apparently, this talent had also caught the attention of the leech going by the alias ‘Legrand’ that Julia had already mentioned. Said leech introduced himself with the very same name to the Ascalon club some months before, applying for membership. His eyes showed that he was indulging himself in blood more than even those bloody leeches approve of, so Lord Redgrave declined his request. Warner didn’t hear anything from the applicant since, until he was suddenly attacked on his way home when returning to the city after the worst of the leech epidemic was gone. Legrand bit him then, and as you can imagine, Warner got infected”, he went on, locking his eyes with Thomas’. “In his wrath, he killed his servants as well as the wife which had been with him for the last 200 years. But Legrand not only infected him, he also managed to sway Warner to his ideals: a country ruled by leeches, every possible threat being wiped out before”.

“What do you mean, ‘a country ruled by leeches’?”, Leigh enquired with some horror in her voice.

Geoffrey glanced at her with grim expression. “What did Reid tell you about Aloysius Dawson?”, he finally enquired.

“Dawson? The owner of Dawson & Dawson? I don’t think Jonathan ever mentioned him”, the woman replied with a frown.

“Huh, interesting, I’d have thought he would, and if just to prove his superior morality. Aloysius Dawson has been one of the human members of the Ascalon club for years now, and apparently, he was a candidate for their… special recruitment”, Geoffrey explained.

Both Thomas and Robert took in a sharp breath at that, but Leigh still looked confused. “What do you mean by that?”, she asked.

“I mean they wanted to turn the man, Julia – in fact, Redgrave wanted our good doctor leech to perform the deed. Reid refused however, stalling the request until Dawson found a natural end”. The corners of his mouth twitched. “That’s basically the reason they’ve kicked him out, actually”. His face went grim again. “Dawson’s ideas didn’t die with him, however – the man had the insane idea of the country being ruled by an immortal king”.

“That’s utter bollocks – people would realise their king not dyin’ an’ only goin’ out at night”, Robert intercepted harshly.

“Aye, they would, but Ascalon thought Dawson would realise eventually that it wouldn’t work this way and therefore let his ideas blossom. Legrand has taken these thoughts to a much more feasible level, however”, the ekon replied calmly, glancing at the bald captain. “While Dawson planned on turning the king himself, Legrand wants a puppet on the throne – a puppet which’s mind is played by a leech working in the shadows. That’s the reason Legrand was targeting the club – he needs their political influence. So, he turned anyone who’d be of use, disposing of all others. Probably revenge for them not letting him in in the first place also plays a role. I reckon that’s what Nimrod meant when he stated he was playing unwillingly into Legrand’s hands by ending the remaining Ascalon members”.

“But that’d never work, turning the king into some thrall, would it?”, Julia enquired dubiously.

The male ekon shook his head. “That alone? I don’t think so. But Legrand doesn’t only use politics, he also uses money – those documents we’ve found are the proof of that. He’s trying to get a hold of or at least a foot into the most successful companies of the country. With varying success, I might add. His plan is still insane, and unlikely to work in the way he imagines, but it has a quite worrisome potential to cause damage”.

“Do you know which of these transactions were successful? And do you have any names of the remaining Ascalon members?”, Thomas asked with a worried frown.

Geoffrey nodded. “Aye, I can make you a list. You definitely should also have a look on the documents, however – retaining these memories isn’t exactly straightforward and I might be missing things. The fact I’m lacking some of the memories also doesn’t help”. He sighed. “But I’m afraid those are not all bad news I’ve got. Legrand is also trying to get a hold of Scotland Yard, and he’s at least partly doing so over Priwen”. The ekon locked his eyes with Thomas’. “I’m not sure how to break this to you, but… has Joseph shown any unusual behaviour lately? Like writing a lot of letters and enquiring about things he normally wouldn’t want to know?”, he asked.

The blonde man clenched his jaw at that. “He has. We already know he’s a snitch Geoffrey – apparently, he had been made to believe he was writing letters to Cathy when, in fact, he wrote reports about Priwen’s plans and proceedings”, he replied reluctantly. Geoffrey nodded gravely at that. “You know already then. Good. That’s good”, he said with obvious relief. “I am not sure you are aware about the scale of Warner’s manipulations, though – it’s true what you said, the bloody leech made Joseph believe he’s writing love letters to his girl, but that was not all of it. He also made him use the contacts to his former colleagues in the Yard to cover up the leeches’ operations – that’s the reason none of the authorities acted upon the bloodbath the leeches caused in Clapham, as well as several others”.

Thomas eyes widened at that. “But if they find out the scale of the events there…”, he started

“…it’ll be potentially blamed on Priwen since we have seemingly been the ones who tried to cover it up, yes”, Geoffrey ended his sentence.

“That’s bad news, we must immediately…”

“No, Thomas, _first_ you must listen to _everything_ I tell you. _Then_ you can make Esther forge all the letters needed for as much damage containment as possible. You should also talk to Norris – I know you two aren’t fond of each other, but other than most Yard officer’s he’s aware of the existence of leeches and he’ll help you if you explain the situation – normally I’d deal with him, but I doubt that would be a good idea given my… affliction”, the ekon interrupted him.

“Esther? Joseph is still not free from the influence, then?”, Priwen’s leader enquired sharply.

“I’m afraid this is none of the cases where the influence just vanishes with the end of the leech, no”, Geoffrey replied, shifting uneasily. “It will surely have somewhat diminished and will keep doing so, but it’ll take time. I’ve seen what Warner has done and it is… complex. Don’t think I’ll ever be able to do something like this myself – not that I wanted to anyway. You _could_ try to speed up the process with our usual means, but it won’t be fast enough for Joseph fixing things with Scotland Yard himself”.

The blonde man nodded curtly, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Since you stopped me from acting immediately, I reckon you’ve got more?”, he enquired after a moment.

“Aye. Since the weapons you used in the fight were all working without any problems, I assume you also found already out about Gibbs also being a snitch?”, Geoffrey asked.

“Yes”, Thomas retorted curtly.

“Good. What about Freeman and Curtis, the medics?”, the ekon enquired further. The blonde man shook his head with a worried frown. “Warner got to them over Joseph and used them to make sure the infected guards who returned to the headquarters weren’t spotted as turning too soon. He also used Curtis’ contacts to some of the lower ranking coppers for his cover-up. You’ll also have to take care of that”, Geoffrey explained.

“Noted. Did he compel them to do anything else, or are there more he’s charmed?”, Priwen’s leader enquired in a low voice.

Geoffrey shook his head. “Not as far as I am aware, no. Warner also knew some of the other Ascalon members being involved in some activities against the bloody stole brothers, but from what Julia just told us that has been already taken care of. We _could_ have the courtesy to warn them, nevertheless, Talltree helped me with Arthur’s blood, after all”, he stated reluctantly.

Robert sighed at that. “I guess we could send Esther, girl ‘as gotten along with that bloody fortune teller last time ‘lready…”, he mumbled. “How long will you need for that list?”, he then enquired.

The male ekon shrugged. “I should be able to write you a preliminary list within an hour, I think. You will have to wait until tomorrow for the final version, however”, he replied.

“Why is that?”, Thomas enquired, suspicious.

Geoffrey sighed. “As I said before, retrieving these memories isn’t a straightforward process – it’s not like something I’ve experienced myself but more like… a book I once read, a book with missing pages. Fishing for specific things needs quite some focus and time, especially since that leech was so bloody _old_. And then Julia and I found it’s much easier to sort through them after having slept once after the… retrieval”.

Priwen’s leader nodded hesitantly at that. “I understand, I guess. Make that preliminary list, then; I guess we’ll have to meet again tomorrow anyway – you can hand over the final version then”, he stated.

“I could try to help Geoffrey, maybe some of the documents I’ve read held some information he misses. Or maybe at least I can help him sorting through things”, Leigh, who had been sitting on her chair in almost eerie silence and with a distant look in her eyes, suddenly spoke up.

“Do that. We will be waiting for you downstairs”, Thomas agreed, getting up from his chair and gesticulating Robert as well as the two sergeants, who had been staying with them to make sure someone would realise if the leeches tried to play any mind tricks, to follow him.

“Do you believe what those leeches told us?”, Priwen’s leader enquired directed at Robert as soon as they had turned on the radio downstairs, the device again playing white noise.

The bald captain shrugged at that. “I’m not sure, to be completely ‘onest with you”, he replied, scratching his head. “Some of it sounds jus’ like a bloody fairy tale to me, but in the end… it seems to add up”, he went on.

The blonde man nodded thoughtfully. “I know what you mean – I assume you understand now my hesitation when it comes to Geoffrey?”, he asked.

Robert inclined his head. “Yeah, I do. An’ while I’m not sure ‘bout the truth of anythin’ that comes ‘f a leech’s mouth – their actions tell their own story. ‘s much ‘s I mistrust that she-beast Leigh, I must admit she saved the life of several men this night. Not to mention what Crossley told us ‘bout her”.

“The same applies to Geoffrey – did you know leeches are able to raise a blood shield to protect others than themselves? Geoffrey raised one around me this night, to protect me from a leech attack”, Thomas agreed.

The other man’s eyes widened at that. “I wouldn’t even have considered…” He shook his head. “’s much as I hate to admit it, you might’ve been onto somethin’ when suggestin’ to keep Geoffrey around – those leeches ‘ave been bloody useful this night”.

Thomas scoffed at that. “Indeed. I even wonder… but I guess we’ll better keep further discussions until we’re back at the new headquarters – I want Esther to participate and I also think it’d be wise to check with the sergeants for any mind tricks of the leeches before, even though I doubt they’d be apt enough to meddle with the thoughts of us both without one of us noticing”. The bald captain nodded his head in agreement, a short silence falling between the men afterwards. “I’m afraid I must leave – I’ll need to get Esther and some of the boys working on damage containment as soon as possible”, Thomas finally stated.

“Yeah, do that. I’ll wait for our pet leeches to finish up before I follow you – keep me some ‘f the men here, however, wouldn’t wanna get charmed now”, Robert replied.

“I will. See you in an hour, then”, the blonde man retorted with a small smirk before heading towards the entrance. Robert settled himself down onto a chair as he waited, a harsh knock waking him from the shallow slumber he had fallen into after some time.

* * *

“I think that’s all I’ll get for now”, Geoffrey said as he stepped into the room, Leigh following closely behind him. He placed two pieces of paper onto the desk, both of them filled with Geoffrey’s scrawl.

“Thanks. That’s hopefully gonna help some”, Robert stated, skimming over the text and whistling as he read some of the companies’ names. “Leech’s been busy, that’s for sure”, he uttered, before glancing up. “I think it’s time for us to part ways, now. We’ll meet again tomorrow, 6 pm, this building?”, he enquired.

Geoffrey nodded at that. “Sounds fine to me – Julia?”, he replied.

“Sure. We should talk to Jonathan, anyway. I’m curious about what Nimrod thinks he knows”, the woman answered.

“That’s settled then. See you tomorrow, I guess. And Robert?”, Geoffrey said.

“What?”, the bald captain replied.

“I know I can’t order you around anymore, but do me a favour and catch some sleep when you’re back at the new headquarters, will you? You’re not twenty anymore, after all, and you look like you need it”, the ekon said with a slight smirk.

“Bah – see that you get your arse out ‘f here, _leech_ , before I remove it!”, Robert barked, not missing the small chuckle of one of the sergeants that was with them in the room. Geoffrey had at least the sense to stay quiet, but he wasn’t even trying to hide the mischievous smile playing at his lips as he and Leigh, who also grinned broadly, turned around and left the room, the sound of the front doors announcing their departure shortly after. Robert waited a few minutes afterwards to make sure they were gone before he also left the building, taking the remaining guards with him. The leeches would probably be able to follow him to the headquarters if they really wanted to, especially Leigh with her shadow veil, but Robert was too anxious to get back to do more than detour a little bit. _Guess it doesn’t matter so much since Joseph has probably handed over the location of the new headquarters ages ago, anyway_ , he thought as he went into the building, bracing himself for the surely tiring conversations that would be following.

* * *

“Are you alright?”, Geoffrey enquired as Julia and he were on their way to the West End where they would hopefully meet Jonathan.

“What? I’m fine, Geoffrey, I caught myself some rats when that friend of yours sent me scouting, so my thirst’s in check”, the woman replied, obviously snapped out of her thoughts.

The hunter sighed at that. “I wasn’t referring to your thirst, Julia, even though I’m glad it’s taken care of – you have avoided talking about what happened in Ascalon since that first night and you just told them about the part where you’ve been _tortured_ , so I was wondering how you are feeling”.

“I’m not exactly keen on relivin’ those experiences, Geoffrey, so _excuse me_ if I don’t engage in lengthy conversations about them”, Julia snapped, her eyes flaring with sudden rage. The male ekon only arched his eyebrow at her outbreak, knowing her well enough by now to be aware that she tended to snap when someone hit a sore point and much more so if Ascalon was brought up. Julia kept on grumbling something unintelligible, but finally she calmed down. “Sorry. I… I’ve overreacted a bit”, she stated sheepishly.

“That you did. I didn’t mean my comment as an accusation, Julia – it is your decision if and when you want to talk about these things. I am just _worried_ about you – talking about it in this situation must’ve been uncomfortable and those bloody UV lights installed there surely didn’t make things better”, Geoffrey replied kindly, almost regretting mentioning the UV lights as Julia flinched visibly at the words.

“I’m okay, Geoffrey, and ’s not like we’ve got the time for me havin’ a breakdown right now anyway. I might decide to collapse quietly and with many tears involved in a small little corner when we’re finally done with that Legrand, though”.

The hunter nodded, placing his hand at her shoulder and squeezing it slightly, biting back his urge to pull her into an embrace without letting go for the next hour. “I’ll be there, if you need me, just so you know”, he stated sympathetically.

Julia glanced up at him, small hints of crimson in the corners of her eyes betraying her feelings. “Thanks”, she said quietly, falling into silence afterwards.

A short while later, Julia finally broke the silence again. “They were much more amicable than I’d have thought – Priwen I mean. I’ve expected much more life threats and weapons pointed into my face”.

“Well, they _did_ give me a lot of _that_ treatment during our first meetings”, Geoffrey replied with a scoff, before sobering. “They just did what was practical, Julia – they had decided to keep us at their side in this fight, and it would’ve been more a hindrance than help if they kept holding weapons into our faces then”.

“Huh. Maybe. We’ll see how they behave tomorrow – and before you even try stoppin’ me, I _will_ be accompanying you. They didn’t shoot me this time, so they bloody won’t do so next time if they don’t decide to end us both and then you’ll need my help anyway”, the female ekon stated firmly. Geoffrey just shrugged at that, knowing that a discussion would be useless – and she also had a point. He had been surprised how well the men took her presence, actually, but since they did there was no reason to keep her away from the meeting.

They were almost at Jonathan’s mansion, having decided they would approach it over the balcony at the backside since they didn’t want to explain to the man’s butler why they were visiting in the dead of the night, as Geoffrey suddenly felt an unknown presence. “Do you feel that?”, he enquired, alarmed.

“Aye – there’s someone with Jonathan, and said someone is a bloody strong leech”, Julia whispered back, also unsettled. “We’d better hurry – what if its Legrand!?”, she went on, already shadow-jumping further down the street. The hunter hurried after her, sharing her concern, and only moments later Julia was pounding at the closed balcony door that led to the doctor’s room.

“Jonathan! Let us in!”, she cried out, even if not loud enough to raise the attention of any passers-by. Much to both their surprise, the unknown presence that sat right now in the doctor’s room visibly flinched at that, but otherwise didn’t move, only Jonathan’s outline making its way to the door. Before they could make any speculations, the door was opened, however, the doctor’s enquiring face appearing in its frame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in case anyone wonders why Geoffrey stated that Jonathan stalled the transformation of Dawson until he was dead while Dawson was actually still alive when our good doctor left him ingame: Geoffrey only knows the 'official' version Redgrave told the rest of the club to explain why he couldn't just perform the deed himself when Jonathan declined...


	34. Beloved One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to start with the chapters that have excess length. Also - you certainly already called it - it's weekend, so there'll be a double update :).

The street was busy when Jonathan stepped outside into the fresh air of the early evening. Much to his relief, he knew none of the passers-by, sparing him from eventual conversations as he made his way to temple church to speak with Talltree. He had wanted to do that last night already, but his venture to Sean’s night shelter had taken priority and since Mr Throgmorton had somehow managed to sprain his wrist on his nightly ventures that trip had taken more time than anticipated. But then Jonathan assumed he’d have more than enough time for his conversation with the primate before the two hunters would return, since the trip to Clapham and back would take them a while.

_A lot of time to worry about them – maybe I should be grateful about the forced delay, it’ll take my mind at least somewhat off things_ , the doctor pondered as he slowly stepped down into the crypt beneath the church. Much to his surprise, he found the place where the primate normally resided to be empty, however. Drawing on his senses, the ekon searched his surroundings for any life signs, finding none. _At least there’s also no blood_ , he thought, stepping closer to Talltree’s desk. It was clear of any documents as well as the usual cards, only a single candle remaining on it, unlit. The chest placed behind the desk was still locked, however, and as Jonathan tried to move it, he found it being heavy from the content inside. _Maybe he is out on some brotherhood business. There are no signs of a fight, after all._ Still, he couldn’t help but feel worried. He lingered a while longer in the crypt, but since nobody came and he also couldn’t find anything that might help him pinpointing the primate’s location, he finally gave up and went back home, worried and frustrated.

He tried to busy himself with his research, declining Avery’s offer to cook him a meal. He gave that up after an hour or so, however, since he found himself locked in a stalemate, all of his recent experiments failing. _Resuming work now is no good, I need to reconsider my theories_ , he thought wearily, brushing through his hair. _Whom am I fooling – what I need is not a simple reconsideration but a second opinion. A different angle of view. Blasted, as much as I despise Edgar’s immoralities, these are the moments I direly miss him. I assume I could try to ask Talltree if he knew someone I could have a scientific exchange with, but then I do not trust the brotherhood for their moral integrity anymore when it comes to research. Not after what happened with Edgar as well as the man who searched for the cure for blindness._

He sighed. It was not like he could talk to the primate right now, anyway, and there was no use in trying his experiment another time while knowing it would fail again. He really should take a break. Having decided, the doctor got up from his chair, heading towards the door. He could do with a cup of tea – while he wouldn’t be able to drink it, he savoured the smell since it reminded him of Elisabeth and he also knew Avery would be delighted about being of help. Evelyne’s death had devasted the man and Jonathan had the nagging feeling his constant declines of any food or drink as well as his absences made matters only worse.

He had been right about Avery, the butler’s face visibly lit up when Jonathan asked for some tea and soon the scent of Earl Grey filled the kitchen. Knowing how Jonathan liked it (well, at least before he had been turned into an immortal, but then Avery was unaware about that piece of information), the butler added first some milk into the cup before adding the tea after it had steeped thoroughly. Giving the older man a grateful smile, the ekon took the cup, inhaling the scent deeply with closed eyes. “Thank you, Avery. That was just what I needed”. “You are welcome, Mr Jonathan. Do you need anything else? Some biscuits maybe?”, Avery replied. The doctor shook his head. “No, I’m not hungry. You could do me a favour and try to catch some sleep, however. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look like you need it and there is no reason for you to adapt to my currently nocturnal rhythm. It is unhealthy”, he retorted, taking in the butler’s pale, weary face and the dark circles under his eyes. Avery hesitated at that, but finally, he nodded. “If you are sure you won’t need anything…” “I am. Go to bed, you certainly deserve it”. The butler retreated with a final nod, while Jonathan also went back to his room, taking cup and kettle with him – he wouldn’t drink it, of course, but he liked how the smell imbued the air of the room. Feeling much calmer now, he sat down at his table again, deciding to go through his research papers another time. _Maybe I’ve overseen something_ , he thought.

* * *

Several hours had passed by, the tea having gotten cold in its cup, as Jonathan was pulled from his reading by a subtle knock at his balcony door. Drawing on his vampiric senses he looked up, surprised not to see the two figures of Julia and McCullum behind the door but another, very familiar shape. Without any hesitation, the doctor got up from his chair and went to open the door, a smile despite his worry spreading over his face. “Elisabeth! Why are you here, I thought you were in Scotland!?”, he exclaimed as soon as he had opened the door, studying her delicate features which were surrounded by some red strands that had loosened from her normally tidy hairstyle. _She’s even more beautiful than I remembered_ , he thought, while Elisabeth arched a brow.

“I left as soon as I received your letter. But I had expected a warmer welcome, I must admit”, she said dryly.

“I… I am sorry, my dear. Of course I am glad to see you, I just fear your presence here might put you in danger”, Jonathan hastened to clarify, blushing.

“I was merely teasing you, Jonathan, and I am also very much capable of taking care of myself should it ever come to it”, the red-haired ekon replied with a fond smile.

The doctor nodded, before stepping aside. “I know. Still, I worry for you. But where are my manners – please, come inside!”, he invited her in.

“Thank you, my dearest”, she replied while stepping in with her usual grace, taking in the room while she did so, a smile still tugging the corners of her lips. “I should have known you would take your work home, beloved”, she stated teasingly, studying the flasks and tools strewn over the doctor’s working bench with obvious interest. “But I see you are not in the mood for idle conversation”, she went on, turning around to Jonathan who still stood at the door awkwardly. Her face turned into a worried frown as she studied him more intensely. “Are you all right, Jonathan? The only time I’ve ever seen you so upset was after the funeral of your sister”, she enquired, stepping towards the younger ekon and lightly touching his arm.

“I… I don’t know, Elisabeth, I honestly don’t know”, Jonathan replied, his voice cracking a little bit at the end.

“Please, have a seat. Tell me what is troubling you”, the female ekon said kindly, guiding the doctor to his bed and settling down next to him while taking his hands into hers.

“But don’t you know? You said you received my letters…”, Jonathan enquired, furrowing his brows in confusion.

“I did – is this about the attack of Pembroke? But the hospital seemed to be well off when I visited it in my search for you. Please don’t tell me you are blaming yourself for what happened to the poor Mr Chadana, Jonathan dear”, the lady replied kindly.

“You don’t know then…”, Jonathan breathed, devastated. _Of course she doesn’t – she would never have made it here by now if she had been in Scotland to receive my last letter_ , he scolded himself after doing some mental maths.

“Know what, dearest? What is troubling you?”, Elisabeth enquired in a worried tone, gently caressing his cheek. Taking in a shaking breath, Jonathan took the hand that was caressing him, closing his eyes as he braced himself for what he needed to tell her.

“The attack at Pembroke… it was only the beginning”, he started, opening his eyes to look into her stunningly green ones, telling her everything about Clarence’s abduction and Julia finding the infected Charlotte being the abductor.

Elisabeth’s eyes widened in horror at that. “No… oh, no…”, she whispered, her free hand flying to her mouth.

“Charlotte’s alive, however”, Jonathan tried to reassure her.

“She is? But then your new friend…”, Elisabeth replied.

The doctor shook his head. “Is also well, at least she was when I saw her last night. The two of them got into a serious fight, but in the end, Charlotte fled while Julia managed to bring Clarence safely to Pembroke hospital – he is also recovering”.

“I am glad to hear that, Jonathan, even if I could not have blamed your friend if she…” She shook her head, obviously unable to finish the sentence. A moment later, she collected herself, however, her gaze turning sharp. “But what happened to your mother? You said she was also abducted and I only sense one human inside the building, who is a male…”, she enquired, concern showing in her face.

The younger ekon averted his gaze, not wanting to show the tears forming in her eyes. “She didn’t make it”, he stated quietly with rough voice, holding his tears back as he told her about the terrible fight against the French ekon and about his mother’s death.

“Oh dear. Oh, my dearest Jonathan”, Elisabeth breathed when he was done, pulling the younger ekon into a tight embrace, the two of them staying like this while Jonathan tried to collect himself, his shoulders shaking with the tears he shed. “I hate myself for enquiring this from you, but… do you remember how the ekon who did this looked like?”, Elisabeth enquired after a while, letting go of the doctor even though her hands searched for his again, taking them fondly.

“Yes. I don’t think I could ever forget it”, Jonathan replied with a small nod. “He had a French accent, even though his English was almost perfect. He was tall, clad into upper-scale clothes and had black, long hair worn in a ponytail. And his eyes… I’ve never seen an immortal with eyes like that, Elisabeth. I think I understand now what the brotherhood means if they talk of a dragon”. Elisabeth’s eyes widened at that and, all of a sudden, she removed her hands from his, shadow-jumping away from him.

“No… no, no, no – I had been fearing this, but I wouldn’t believe it, I _couldn’t_ believe it to be true...”, she uttered, shaking her head in denial.

“What do you mean? Elisabeth, please, talk to me!”, Jonathan enquired, getting up and starting to move towards her, stopping himself as she flinched further away.

“It is my fault, Jonathan, everything is my fault! I should’ve known, I should’ve made sure…”, she said frantically, moving further towards the balcony door.

“No! Elisabeth!”, Jonathan cried out, shadow-jumping towards the door before she could move any further. “Please! Please, don’t just leave again! _Talk to me!_ ”, he demanded, grabbing her by her shoulders and turning her around to face him.

“It is my fault, Jonathan! Everything is my fault!”, she exclaimed, trying to back away.

“Tell me, then! _Please_ , Elisabeth!”, the doctor pleaded, guiding her back to the bed.

“I… you are right, Jonathan. That at least you deserve after all the pain you had to suffer from because of me…”, she started, settling down onto the bed. Before she could speak further, however, she was interrupted by a sharp knock at the balcony door.

“Jonathan! Let us in!”, Julia’s voice sounded, the worry being evident in it. The doctor could see his beloved flinch at the sudden interruption, and he too had to stop himself to do the same since his senses hadn’t warned him from Julia’s and the hunter’s approach. Again. Knowing neither she nor McCullum would stop their pounding if he didn’t speak to them, he went for the door, shooting Elisabeth a reassuring look. “Jonathan! Who – oh. That’s _her_ , isn’t it?”, Julia said as soon as he had opened the door, her gaze flickering to Elisabeth and then back to him.

“Yes. There’s no need for you to break the door down”, the doctor replied, automatically taking a defensive stance in the door frame – the relationship between him and the two hunters had been amicable during the last few weeks, and that even included McCullum who was standing silently behind Julia, but Jonathan hadn’t forgotten both their reactions to Elisabeth’s story. “So, _she’s_ the one Nimrod was talking about, then”, Julia uttered to herself.

Just as Jonathan wanted to express his bewilderment on that comment, they were intercepted by Elisabeth, who had gotten up silently and was now standing behind her beloved, her gaze first intently studying McCullum before locking on Julia. “You’re Nimrod’s progeny? He had mentioned you”, she stated matter-of-factly.

The doctor’s eyebrows went up at that. “You know Nimrod?”, he enquired, turning around.

“Fleetingly. But don’t you think you should invite your friends in? Letting them stay outside in the cold is unbecoming and I also think they should hear what I am going to tell you”, Elisabeth replied, her expression eerily severe. The doctor shot her a confused look, not so sure if it was really a good idea to let the other two ekons in.

Finally, he stepped aside, however, waving his hand invitingly. “Please, come in”, he muttered, closing the door behind them. He seemed not to be the only one anticipating a fight as he noticed, since McCullum’s crossbow was primed. Decidedly, Jonathan moved again between the hunter and Elisabeth. “I assume you have already guessed it, but to make things formal – Julia, McCullum, this is Lady Ashbury, my beloved. Elisabeth, these are Ms Leigh and Mr McCullum, both newly turned ekons and vampire hunters”, the doctor introduced them, trying to break at least somewhat the tension that lingered in the air.

“We’ve recognised your red-haired friend, Reid”, McCullum replied tartly.

“Nevertheless, it would have proved poor manners to not introduce you, hunter. But since you have returned relatively unharmed, I assume your ventures to Clapham went successfully?”, Jonathan replied, taking in the torn and bloodstained clothes of both hunters – while they did both seem to be unharmed, the fight could not have been an easy one.

“They did. We’ve found out who’s the puppet player – seems to be our French friend. Just as we were busy with colleting some more information, I had a quite interestin’ conversation with my maker, however. He told me that French bastard calls himself ‘Legrand’ these days but that he was known by another name before. And for some reason, Nimrod seemed to think _you_ ’d know this other name”, Julia replied, watching him warily.

“He doesn’t. _I_ do. I was just about to tell him when you arrived, in fact”, Elisabeth answered in Jonathan’s stead, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

The hunter scoffed at that. “Should’ve known the bloody leech lady was somehow involved”, he uttered grimly.

“She’s not…” Jonathan started, but was interrupted by his beloved.

“Please, Jonathan dear, don’t. The hunter is not completely wrong with his statement, I am afraid”, she stated, before settling herself down onto the doctor’s bed. “Jonathan wrote me he had to divulge my past to you, but did he also mention the name I went by when I performed those terrible deeds on the continent?”, she enquired, directed at McCullum.

The hunter nodded. “Aye, he said you and Lady Blackwood are the very same person”, the ekon replied fiercely.

Elisabeth nodded gravely at that. “Indeed. And since you are aware of _my_ wrongdoings, you surely also know of the partner I had during this time, Jacob Blackwood?”, she asked further.

“Of course I know, I’m not daft. But Jacob Blackwood is dead, Kendall Stone made sure of that”, McCullum huffed.

Julia could see the red-haired ekon sighing at Geoffrey’s reply. “Yes, that is exactly what I thought as well. But apparently, I was mistaken”, she said sadly, taking a deep breath. “But please, have a seat and let me start at the beginning. I think all of you…”, she glanced at Jonathan “…deserve the full story”. Julia nodded at that, tugging at Geoffrey’s arm as she settled down onto one of the chairs in the room, Geoffrey taking the other one while the doctor sat down onto the bed next to Elisabeth.

“As probably all of you are well aware, I was infected with the blood of hate by my father in 1667. Only a few months before that, however, I had made the acquaintance of a most intriguing young man called Jacob Devillers – his sharp mind being only surpassed by his kind heart. I had restrained myself from getting involved with mortals too much at this time, since my father’s warnings of the pain these kinds of relationships can cause were still fresh in mind. I soon found that I was not able to maintain this behaviour when it came to Jacob, however”. Julia could see the other woman passing an apologetic glance at Jonathan, whose attention seemed to be torn between her story and his wary glances towards Julia and Geoffrey. Well, mostly Geoffrey, in fact.

Lady Ashbury sucked in another deep breath. “When my father had… infected me with the blood of hate, I fled, confused and filled with pain and wrath upon his betrayal. In my rage I decided that I would not ever be betrayed like this again, that I would _create_ someone who would always be on my side. With this decision in mind, I went back to France where I had been residing before at that time, heading straight to Jacob’s house. He let me in without any questions – we had been good friends at that time, after all, almost lovers. I didn’t give him any chance to escape but pinned him against one of the walls and fed him forcefully with my blood”. She bowed her head in obvious shame. “Of all the terrible things I have done, this I regret most. The transformation went successfully, but his kind heart was gone forever. I have turned him into a monstrosity”.

“Are we to feel sorry for you, leech?”, Geoffrey huffed crassly, interrupting her. Jonathan bristled at that, but before he could say anything, the lady shook her head.

“No, hunter. I merely want you to understand that Jacob was not always the monster he is nowadays. _I turned him into one_. And monsters we both were, as you probably know better than others. Jacob and I married two years after his transformation – it was convenient for our travels and also… despite the constant wrath and hate we were feeling our connection was not gone. It was an unhealthy and poisonous relationship, but it was a relationship, nevertheless”. Her hand searched for Jonathan’s, who took it fondly. Julia wondered shortly if he wasn’t jealous at all, but his features betrayed no such emotion. “He took my last name since I was already quite wealthy at this time and it was easier if we had not to change names on contracts and the like”, Lady Ashbury resumed her story, now focusing on Julia and Geoffrey again.

“Then, after more than a century of indulging ourselves in terrible slaughter, my father contacted me again. It took months until he had finally convinced me to meet him in his old retreat, but finally, I agreed, leaving Jacob behind in France. As I met him – he had chained himself so he would not hurt me – he gave me the antidote he had found after a search taking longer than a century. I did not believe him when he told me his bite had infected me with the disease of the devil, I shouted and clawed at him, believed his ‘antidote’ to be a fraud, his attempts to heal me endeavours to get me back despite his betrayal. But in the end, I took it with me, and if only to stop his thoughts intruding my mind despite all the mental barriers I had developed over time”. She sighed sadly, her face showing a deep, sorrowful frown. “It took another seven years until I finally drank it – I can’t even tell why I had kept it all the time, hiding it from Jacob. But when… in the moment Jacob and I had _slaughtered_ an entire orphanage, indulging ourselves in the blood of mere _children_ , some of them not even old enough to speak…” She shook her head, her voice catching.

“That was the moment Lady Blackwood died. After all this years, the queen’s song went silent, if only for a moment. But this moment – it was enough. Enough for me to realise what I had _done_. What I had _become._ Without a word, I fled from that slaughterhouse, fled from Jacob since I _knew_ he would stop me and went to the place where I had hidden my father’s antidote all these years ago”. She closed her eyes and Julia just knew she was leaving something out here, but she was too caught up by the story to interrupt right now.

“It took a while before I dared to get even close to any human settlement again. I tried to find Jacob, but it seemed like he had fallen from the face of earth. I knew he was alive since I could feel his thoughts when I searched for them, but he shielded himself from me and my mind shied too much away from his madness to allow me circumventing or overpowering his barriers. In the end, I gave up, at least momentarily. I knew he was more than able to hide himself if he wanted to do so – we had played this game together for over a century, after all, since we had not only to fear human hunters”. The red-haired ekon smiled weakly at Julia. “This was how I first met your maker, even though he did not introduce himself at this time – he was hunting Jacob and me for several decades. He is a frightening enemy, forsooth, and the sole reason Jacob and I succeeded to evade him was that he kept his distance, even when fighting us. Nowadays I realise he must have been doing so to avoid infection, but back then we always assumed he was fearing us”. She sighed softly.

“But I am wandering off the topic, I apologise. As I said, I gave up my pursue of Jacob for a while, heading to my father instead and ensuring he was kept safe. I _did_ resume my hunt afterwards, nevertheless, and had several encounters with Jacob”. Her face darkened. “With time, I realised that I would not be able to save him. He refused listening to me, and after my failed attempt to cure my father my hopes of curing Jacob, even if I would manage to force-feed him with the antidote, were practically non-existent. He evaded me even more after I finally decided to end him, however – I still do not know if it was by instinct or if I accidently let him know my thoughts. It took me years to locate him again, the fact that the newly formed guard of Priwen was hunting me fiercely and forced me to fake my own death in the end was not helping”, she went on, glancing at Geoffrey at the last sentence. “In 1843, I had finally managed to find Jacob, however, a more visible blood trail than he had left in years leading me to London and right into the first great hunt which had started in the very night I arrived”. She paused for a moment, looking at her hands broodingly.

“Even you, hunter, cannot imagine the terrors of it. The Guard of Priwen, at the height of their power and following the lead of a Kendall Stone who wielded his weapons with the knowledge of someone once chosen to be the head of the Brotherhood’s hunters was more than terrifying to watch. In mere nights, they hunted down some of the oldest immortals of the whole country, ending them in the most gruesome ways. But it was not only the hunters performing terrible deeds – while many of the immortal society decided to flee, some retaliated, strengthening themselves with the blood of innocent citizens. And, amidst all that chaos, was Jacob, my former husband. He relished in the bloodshed, of course. But whilst I saw him several times during the two nights I stayed in the city during the hunt, I never managed to get close to him. I had almost reached him in the second night – he had just entered a building in the East End – as my approach was interrupted by an astonishing big group of hunters. Not daring to get any closer, I watched as they went after him. Almost half an hour later, they went outside again, the group being much smaller and carrying several corpses. They set the building on fire as soon as they were outside. I had continuously circled it while they had been inside, and I never saw Jacob leaving, could sense his presence waning just moments before the hunters left. I had a mind of trying to retrieve his ashes, but… one of the guards spotted me, forcing me to flee the city. As I had finally shaken the hunters off, any possible remains were long gone. I tried to reach Jacob’s mind again and again, and I never felt even the slightest answer. I talked to the brotherhood of Saint Paul’s Stole and I even tried to observe Priwen’s movements for a while. None of it betrayed any trace of Jacob still being alive, confirming the things I thought I saw that night. I thought him to be dead”.

She had raised her head again a while ago, and now her piercing green eyes were studying Jonathan. “I believed this until I got your letter, Jonathan. A letter which contained a note in a handwriting I had not seen in decades. I must admit, I panicked when I saw it, and went from my retreat back to London as fast as was possible. On my way, I almost managed to convince myself that I must be mistaken, paranoid. But then, on my way between Pembroke and the West End, I had a… confrontation with Nimrod. It took quite some convincing to stop him from ending me, but when I mentioned my relationship to Jonathan… he simply backed down”. She squeezed Jonathan’s hand, looking almost shyly at the doctor. “He told me I should go to you immediately and tell you everything about Jacob I knew. I still didn’t want to believe Jacob to be alive, but when you described your attacker… I couldn’t deny it anymore”, she ended softly.

“So, you’re telling me that not only _one_ of the Blackwoods survived, but _both_!? And that one of them, your very _progeny_ is responsible for _slaughtering_ my men!?”, Geoffrey growled, getting up from his chair furiously.

Much to her credit, the lady didn’t even flinch at his outbreak, but calmly stated “Yes, Mr McCullum, I am afraid so”.

The hunter shook his head, his face distorted with disgust. “I should’ve known”, he said, drawing his blade.

“What are you doing, McCullum!?”, Jonathan exclaimed, getting up and shadow-stepping between the hunter and Lady Ashbury.

“What does it look like, Reid!? This _leech_ here is a threat to mankind and I _will_ eradicate it!”, the hunter replied crossly.

“I will not allow that, hunter! You cannot blame Elisabeth for the fate that had befallen her and even less for the actions performed by another!”, the black-haired ekon retorted furiously.

“Can’t I!? If not for your bloody leech lady, a lot of people would still be alive! And, even worse, what tells us she won’t sire another abomination!?”, the other man yelled back.

“You get to her only over my dead body, McCullum. And you know that I am not to be underestimated”, Jonathan growled in a dangerous, low voice, drawing his sword as well.

“ **Stop it,** both of you amadauns!”, Julia exclaimed, having shadow-jumped between them and holding both men back by placing her hands at their chests. _Huh, that somehow reminds me of that situation with his bloody high and mightiness, but with reversed roles_ , she thought, while registering the look of betrayal flashing trough Geoffrey’s eyes.

“ _Why_ , Julia? Why should I stop? Do you really value the bloody _leech_ doctor’s judgement that much higher than mine, despite it being obviously clouded in this case!?”, he enquired, hurt evident in his voice, his words causing Julia to mentally flinch. Taking a deep breath, Julia shook her head.

“No, Geoffrey, of course not. But as much as I understand your ire about the loss of your men, Jonathan’s correct when he says it’s not Lady Ashbury’s fault – no, hear me out!”, she exclaimed as he opened his mouth for a furious retort. “I totally agree with you regardin’ the danger this leech poses, but right now, she should not take priority, Geoffrey! Your _wasting_ our energies and resources if you attack her right now, for she is _not_ our enemy! Just look at her!”, she went on, releasing Jonathan’s chest to gesticulate at Lady Ashbury, who was still sitting on the bed quietly and with a resigned look on her face, even though her eyes were watching the two male ekons warily. “Does she look like a leech which is about to attack!?”, Julia enquired sharply.

The hunter scoffed at that. “Bloody beast only bides its time, so our doctor leech here protects it”, he said through gritted teeth. Both female ekons shook their heads in unison, but Julia raised her hand to stop the red-haired woman from talking, locking her eyes with the other woman’s. _Please let me talk this out, Geoffrey won’t listen to anyone else_ , Julia thought, hoping at least some of her thoughts would be visible in her eyes before she turned back to the hunter.

“And why should she, Geoffrey? I doubt Jonathan would abandon her if she defended her life and she’s at least as strong ‘s we are. Maybe even stronger, considering her age. Also, from everythin’ Charlotte told me before she was turned, this lady leech here is one of the few civilized leeches I’ve ever encountered and whilst this certainly still has to be confirmed, I _refuse_ to partake in the slaughter of a decent one. There’re few enough of them already. Not to mention that this woman has the best intel on our current enemy we are going to get – they were married for god’s sake!”

That got the hunter obviously thinking, and after a few moments he hesitantly relaxed. “You’ve got a point, Julia. But that doesn’t mean I trust you in the slightest, _Blackwood_. And it also doesn’t solve the problem that even if we manage to kill your bloody progeny you still might spawn another!”, Geoffrey said sourly, the last part of it directed at Lady Ashbury.

“I won’t. I’ve taken care in the past to avoid unwanted progeny at any cost and I will keep doing so in the future”, the lady promised softly.

“Ha! And what tells me you’re not merely trying to save your hide, _leech_!?”, the hunter spat.

“For crying out loud, Geoffrey! I had to stop Elisabeth from _burning herself_ when she found out she’s still infectious! Do you _really_ believe she wants to create another disaster!? Not to mention that I am working on a cure for that issue right now, which will hopefully eradicate this problem once and for all!?”, Jonathan retorted, visibly only just stopping himself from shouting. The hunter bristled at that.

“Please, Geoffrey. Stop it. What you’re doin’ here is unwise. Also, do you _really_ think we should be fightin’ each other right now while a bloody leech is out there on a murderous rampage endangering the whole _country_? You know that Jonathan won’t let you get her, and you also know that either you or he would find his death if you fight over her! We can’t afford that kind of bullshit right now”, Julia said with a weary sigh.

“You’re a bloody smart-arse, Julia. But you’re right”, Geoffrey finally caved. With a breath of relief Julia finally lowered her arm, her hand maybe lingering a moment longer on his chest than needed. She didn’t step away, however, since Jonathan still stood there with his sword drawn, his entire body tense.

“Please, Jonathan”, the huntress said quietly.

“I want you to promise it, McCullum. Promise me that you will not hurt her!”, the doctor demanded, ignoring Julia completely.

“Jonathan, dear, _please_. Ms Leigh is correct, we cannot afford to fight between ourselves right now and I am sure Mr McCullum here is experienced enough to be aware of that, even if his temperament has gotten the better of him for a moment. We can resolve the remaining issues after we have dealt with my former husband – you said it yourself down in the crypt, after all: Time is on our side”, Lady Ashbury intercepted.

The doctor glanced back at her, slowly lowering his blade. “But I cannot let you be harmed, dearest”, he said sadly.

With an irritated huff, Geoffrey sheathed his sword with a resolute movement. “All right, Reid. Since the women seem to have teamed up on us, I’ll speed up the process – I must admit Julia’s right after all, we’ve got more pressing issues and your red-head here admittedly hasn’t spawned any progeny for the last century as far as I am aware. So, I promise, I won’t hurt your precious Lady Leech, as long as she doesn’t kill humans or sires a new beast. I will, however, keep an eye on her, and if you, my good doctor, have not managed to find that bloody cure within the next few years, I _will_ be coming for her. As will Priwen, I will make sure they know of the issue. Take it or leave it, but I won’t be making you a better offer”. The black-haired ekon hesitated for a moment, but finally, he also sheathed his sword with a final nod.

“Good. Now that you’re finally done with that idiocy, could we _please_ move on to more important matters!?”, Julia enquired irritated.

“I agree – I would be very interested to hear what Jacob has done to the guard of Priwen, for example. He always had a tendency of elaborate schemes and the better we know of his actions, the better we will be able to anticipate his next steps”, Lady Ashbury agreed. Both Geoffrey and Jonathan nodded sheepishly at their words, already being in the process of settling back down as a knock at Jonathan’s door interrupted that.

“Blasted. We must have woken Avery”, the doctor breathed, heading towards the door.

“What a surprise”, Lady Ashbury mumbled sarcastically under her breath, Julia smirking at her words. The three ekons went very still as soon as Jonathan opened the door, however.

“Mr Jonathan, are you alright? I thought I heard shouting from your room?”, the butler’s worried voice sounded through the small crack the doctor had opened.

“I’m fine, Avery. I’m afraid I’ve dropped some of the vials I need for my research and showed my displeasure louder than it would have been appropriate. The last few nights have been tiring and it would seem it shows”, the black-haired ekon apologised.

Avery hesitated for a moment. “Oh, don’t worry, Mr Jonathan, I understand. Is there anything I can do for you? Do you help with cleaning up?”, he finally enquired.

Jonathan shook his head. “No, Avery, I’ve cleaned up most of it myself already – but I thank you for the kind offer. Go to bed, have a nice sleep”, he replied.

“I will – and you should do the same, sir. Pardon my bluntness, but this is not the time to conduct research and you’re terribly pale since you’ve started working all these night shifts”, the butler answered.

“I will do my best, Avery, but I am afraid my sleep rhythm has adapted to my nocturnal activities for now and I want to at least use the time I spend awake”, Jonathan said sadly, before closing the door.

The ekons waited for a while, before Geoffrey quietly stated, “You think we should move this conversation to another place?”.

The doctor shook his head. “No, Avery isn’t a light sleeper. And I should know, since Mary and I took advantage of this fact more than once to slip into the kitchen for a late snack. We should try to keep it low, however”.

“If you don’t decide to yell at each other again, I don’t think that’s gonna be an issue”, Julia stated dryly. Jonathan nodded sheepishly at that, settling himself down next to his beloved.

“I think you wanted to tell us what you found out in Clapham, as well as giving my dear Elisabeth a short overview over the situation in the guard of Priwen”, he said. The huntress inclined her head at that and both she and Geoffrey went on with a lengthy explanation of their findings and the overall situation afterwards.

“This is worse than I had anticipated”, Lady Ashbury said when they were done, closing her eyes in tired exasperation. “Jacob always had a tendency for grand schemes, but I would not have thought he’d go _this_ far. He had sometimes talked about the benefits a country ruled by immortals could bring, however”. She sighed wearily. “I am afraid the terrible things he did to you as well as to your friends and family, Jonathan, were nothing but a game for him, a distraction while his other machinations were in progress. The fact that he is most likely jealous and hurt as well as the threat your powerful bloodline poses certainly has fuelled things”.

“But has he any weaknesses? Anything we could use to fight him? Or do you know where the bloody beast might have its lair?”, Geoffrey enquired, having leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.

“He will have chosen a place where he can come and go unnoticed, and it will have several exits, at least one of them leading through the dark even during the day. Otherwise, I can’t tell. Jacob always chose practical reasons over sentimental or aesthetical ones when it comes to things like this. Regarding his weaknesses…” She rubbed her forehead, contemplating. “He will certainly be stronger than any of us, since he is not only from a strong bloodline but also feeds in alarming regularity. He was also very versed in the art of combat, and more than apt with several weapons – that won’t have changed, even if he prefers to use the powers his immortality grants him most of the time. He _has_ a tendency to play games and he likes to gamble, however, but he always had several back-up plans in case things go wrong and he is _very_ good in thinking of eventualities. He is not very good in improvising, however, and he tends to overestimate his influence on allies as well as enemies”, she explained after a few moments.

“Do you know of any allies he could have in this city?”, Jonathan enquired.

Elisabeth shook her head. “No. We always avoided England when I was still with him, both because I wanted to stay clear from my father as well as I feared a ban from the brotherhood”.

“A ban? What do you mean with that? And why would you fear the _brotherhood_ of all things?”, Julia enquired.

The red-haired ekon shot her a sharp look. “If an immortal develops into what the brotherhood sees to be a threat to mankind, they will place the ban of the dragon on said vampire. And soon after, the vampire will never be seen again. You would do well to not underestimate them”, she stated.

“Do you think Jacob might have targeted them? I have tried to contact the primate earlier this evening, but I could not find him”, Jonathan asked.

“Nimrod mentioned somethin’ ‘bout having to keep the brotherhood safe”, Julia muttered.

“It is quite possible – if Jacob indeed has plans of this scope, he will try to see any possible threats to be eliminated. I doubt he will have made his way to the primate, however – I think it is much more likely he is discussing matters with… other high-ranking members right now. I know of a place where we could leave them a message, however – it has been a long time since I’ve last used it as I usually went over Dr Swansea if I wanted to contact the brothers, but if the brotherhood is anything, then it’s traditional”, Lady Ashbury remarked.

“We’re meeting Priwen tomorrow – since Warner as well as the snitches are taken care of, the boys should finally be able to operate normally again. And there’s nothing Priwen’s better in than finding leeches and their machinations”, Geoffrey stated.

“Indeed. I could also imagine Jacob not having anticipated a possible cooperation between us and the guard of Priwen. Nobody would have. We could use this as an advantage”, Elisabeth agreed.

“We should also try contacting the sewer skals – if that bloody leech has a hideout with an exit to the sewers, they might know somethin’. Geoffrey and I also could try cleaning the place out of the infected beasts – it’d be certainly a service to this sorry city and it’d also allow the sewer skals more freedom in their movements. Not to mention the possibility that Geoffrey and I might find somethin’ during our hunts”.

“Good idea – you should avoid encountering Jacob alone, however, he’ll certainly end you. If there is any possibility to do so, we should try facing him together”, the lady replied.

“Together? Do you mean you’ll accompany us!?”, Jonathan enquired, obviously horrified by the prospect.

“As I have already told you, I am more than capable of defending myself, dearest. And since it is _me_ who is responsible for this dire situation, I will certainly be accompanying you. I think it also to be likely that Charlotte is with him, and I _will not_ leave the fate of my daughter in other’s hands if I can help it”, Elisabeth stated firmly. Julia could see the doctor twisting his lips into an unhappy pout at that, but he had the sense to not discuss the matter further.

“I will also try talking with my contacts in society – whilst I mostly stayed clear from politics, I know one or two people I sold my paintings to and their gossip might help us anticipating how far Jacob’s plans have already thrived. I should also try talking to the Billows – their daughter is an acquaintance of Charlotte and if Jacob is indeed using the poor girl for his machinations…”

“Wait. You are talking of Carina Billow?”, Jonathan enquired with a sudden frown.

“Why yes, Jonathan – do you know her?”, the red-haired woman enquired.

The doctor nodded gravely. “I met her behind the Ascalon club – she was intent on eating rats in the believe it would grant her immortality. It was soon obvious that someone must have tricked her mind, but I was not able to snap her out of it. All I managed to do was to get the attention of whomever mesmerized her – I had not known this to be possible before but apparently he was able to speak to me through her”, he explained.

Julia sucked in a sharp breath. “I’ve seen her, too! The sole reason I didn’t approach her was Nimrod warnin’ me that she was a pawn in the game of an immortal and that approaching her would possibly lead to my death”, she exclaimed.

Lady Ashbury looked intently at the two. “If this is true, it might be wise if I approach the family very carefully – it is possible Jacob learned of your existence only over her in the first place and I’d rather avoid him knowing that I have returned to this city as long as possible”, she stated quietly.

“That’s probably for the best. If I had known back then… I could’ve been able to stop all of this before it happened”, the doctor said exasperatedly.

Julia shook her head at that. “I doubt that, Jonathan – Nimrod clearly knew somethin’ was going on and I trust him enough that he’d have done something by then if he had been able to. Also, there’s no use in cryin’ over spilled milk”, she said.

They went silent after that, each of the ekons contemplating. “I’d suggest we call it a night, then”, Geoffrey said after a moment. “It is getting late – pardon, early – and I think you two need to write a message to those bloody stole brothers as well as paying a visit to those sewer rats while Julia and me should use the time for a short venture down into the sewers – the faster we get rid of as many infected leeches as we can, the better”, he went on.

“I agree. Will you stop by tomorrow to tell us the result of your meeting with Priwen? My shift starts at midnight, but before you’ll find me probably here”, Jonathan enquired.

Julia nodded. “Of course. See you tomorrow, then”. Without much further hesitation, she and the hunter went outside through the balcony door, leaving Jonathan and Elisabeth behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo, the cat is finally out of the bag - I bet most of you had already called the identity of our nemesis here ;). And Jonathan finally knows why Jacob's features seemed familiar to him - he had seen a picture of him at Elisabeth's castle, even though he admittedly didn't pay so much attention to it due to his worry for his beloved...


	35. Truce

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, a chapter with excess length ^^. I did a double update today (surprise, surprise), so make sure you've read 'Beloved One' before reading this chapter.
> 
> Also, I used the same little trick as for the names for all French words here. Please also tell me if you find that I fucked up with the French in here. ~~Why did I do this?~~

The streets around Priwen’s old headquarters were silent as Julia and Geoffrey approached it just before it was time to meet with Priwen again. “Either something happened, or they’ve assigned much fewer men for this meeting than last time”, the hunter mumbled as they drew nearer.

“I can sense two guards at the entrance”, the huntress replied quietly, drawing on her vampiric senses. And indeed, there stood two guards waiting for them next to the door, one of them carrying a flamethrower while the other was armed with a crossbow.

“They’re waiting for you in your former office, sir”, one of the guards said as the two ekons approached. The male ekon gave the man a funny look, but went to the door nevertheless, Julia following closely behind.

“Odd”, Geoffrey stated some moments afterwards while they went upstairs.

“What’s odd?”, Julia enquired, nervously watching the few guards that were milling about in the building with her blood sense.

“It seems that Tom brought both of the available captains with him, despite the danger a meeting like this entails”, Geoffrey replied with a frown.

The woman shrugged. “Well, he probably reckons if we would want to harm them, we’d already have done so and maybe he wants their opinion on things”, she stated. Geoffrey hummed his agreement, even though the frown did not entirely vanish from his face.

“Good, you’ve come. Please, have a seat”, Thomas greeted them as soon as the two ekons stepped into the room. Without a word, Geoffrey let himself sink into the chair that was still in the room of their conversation last night, Julia doing the same next to him. For a moment, none of them said anything and the ekon used the time to study the three humans. All three of them looked tired, even Esher, whose appearance was usually impeccable if she wasn’t actively engaging into a fight, looked weary, her hair slightly ruffled and the rings under her eyes very evident. “So, did that doctor leech know anything new?”, Thomas finally enquired.

Geoffrey nodded. “Aye, he…”, he started, but was interrupted by Julia who raised her hand in a stopping gesture.

“Wait a minute Geoffrey”, she stated, watching the three humans in the room with narrowed eyes. “Before we tell you _anything,_ I’d like to know what you’re plannin’ to do with us when we’re done, since we’ll have ceased our usefulness then. I’m not planning to stop Geoffrey from givin’ you the information you need even if you tell me you’ll try to end us, but I think we at least deserve the courtesy to _know_ if we have to leg it ‘s soon as this conversation is over or not”, she went on firmly. Geoffrey could see Esther’s lips twitching into a surprised smirk while Thomas’ eyebrows went up, only  Robert seeming to be unfazed.

“As much as I loathe to admit it, Ms Leigh, but you _won’t_ have lost your usefulness after this conversation. You’re continued existence could be still of advantage for Priwen – I assume you’re not going to tell us Legrand is no more, no?”, Priwen’s leader replied after a moment. The female ekon shook her head. “I thought so. Now that’s sorted, could you please move on with your explanations, Geoffrey?”, the blonde man urged.

The male ekon nodded, closing his eyes for a moment to sort his thoughts. “Reid’s girlfriend is back in the city, apparently she’s the one Nimrod referred to last night”, he began after a moment, his eyes snapping open.

“The red-head? Is that beast conspiring with Legrand?”, Thomas enquired, his gaze sharp.

Geoffrey tilted his head. “No, not anymore at least. But she was, once upon a time – whilst she now uses the name Ashbury, the guard knows her much better as Lady Blackwood”, he stated calmly.

“Impossible, that beast should be dead long ago”, Esther hissed with narrowed eyes while Robert exclaimed “We must eradicate her immediately!”.

“I’d highly advice against that”, Julia said dryly.

“Why, you’re protectin’ her or somethin’, _leech_?”, the bald captain enquired through gritted teeth.

The brown-haired woman shook her head. “No, _I_ don’t. _Jonathan_ does, however, and fiercely so, you won’t get even close to her without fighting him. We only just avoided a fight when Geoffrey first showed the same reaction as you just did last night and since she’s peaceful right now, I’d daresay she shouldn’t be your priority. Also, whilst the things the lady leech did were probably horrible and I’d usually be the first to be tryin’ to eliminate a threat like that, she was not fully accountable for her actions. She was infected with the blood of hate, and while her symptoms were cured years ago, leading the monster Blackwood to become Lady Ashbury, her infectious blood was the one that bloody stole doctor used when he accidently caused the epidemic”, she explained.

The room went deadly silent on that. “This seems to be quite a story – do you know more of this?”, Esther finally enquired, eerily calm.

“It is quite a story, indeed”, Geoffrey stated, and he and Julia started to explain everything, including the true identity of Legrand and the lady’s involvement with him. They were repeatedly interrupted by various outburst, especially when they came to the role William Marshal had played, but as they ended the story, the room was quiet.

“So, you’re not only telling me that Legrand and _Jacob Blackwood_ who should’ve been killed by Kendall Stone himself are the very same person, but that we are also not to lay a finger on _Elisabeth Blackwood_ since that bloody doctor leech fancies her?”, Thomas finally asked.

Geoffrey shrugged. “I surely won’t forbid you hunting her, not like I could even if I wanted, anyway”, he stated. “I’m just saying that we should’ve other priorities right now; also, Reid _will_ protect her”.

“While I certainly agree with Geoffrey that we _must_ have other priorities in the moment, we should keep in mind that hesitating now will give her and Reid the opportunity to go into hiding”, Esther intercepted.

Priwen’s leader tilted his head. “True, but I don’t see what can be done about this… except – Geoffrey, would you be willing to help us tracking her and Reid down when we are done with Legrand?”, he enquired.

The male ekon shook his head. “No, at least not straight away – I promised Reid I’ll give him some years to work on his cure as long as the she-beast doesn’t kill a human or spawn new progeny and I stand to my promises. I _am_ planning to keep an eye on them in case one of these things happens, however”.

Robert scoffed at that. “That’s what we get from workin’ with leeches, told you”, he mumbled.

“As much as I loathe to admit it, we _do_ have other priorities right now, Rob. And according to the information we had on _Ashbury_ before together with the things Leigh told us, the leech wouldn’t be very high on our list if not for its history. I’d suggest we discuss these things later. _Alone_. Right now, we should discuss how to deal with Legrand. But before we delve into that – do you still agree with our decision, Esther, Rob?”, Thomas enquired, brushing through his hair.

“Yes, I stand to it”, Esther replied with a gracious nod while Robert just said, “Get it over with”, waving his hand lazily.

“What decision do you mean?”, Geoffrey asked with furrowed brow. At first, Priwen’s leader said nothing, leaning back into his chair and watching the two ekons with calculating eyes. Finally, he spoke.

“Do you know how many men we lost in that ambush yesterday?”, he enquired silently. Both Julia and Geoffrey shook their heads, confusion on their faces. “Five. We lost five men while attacking and ending _fourteen_ ekons. Seventeen, actually, if you count the three beasts we caught before the ambush. Two of the men we lost were during that first fight, meaning that we lost only _three_ during the main assault. Not to mention the fact that we would not have been able to find those beasts as fast as we did without your help”, he went on.

“Get to the bloody point, Tom”, Geoffrey demanded impatiently, a realisation what this might be about dawning on him.

“My point, Geoffrey, is that you two leeches have proved yourself to be incredibly useful. Hence, Esther, Rob and I had some discussions about what to do with you. We were thinking about inviting you into the guard – not to your old position in your case, of course, but as kind of a… special force”, Thomas explained, watching both vampires closely for their reaction.

“You can’t be serious!”, Julia exclaimed, raising from her chair. “What do you think we are? Pets at your disposal? Do you think you can just point at some target an’ say ‘attack’ like with a bloody dog!?”

The blonde man shook his head, turning towards her. “Of course not, and even though we would have to watch you closely you’d still be your own master…”, he started, interrupted by another furious exclamation of the female ekon.

“I’m not bloody worried about my feckin’ _freedom_ , you flippin’ idiot! I’m speaking ‘bout the fact that Geoffrey and I are _bloody monsters_ , not lapdogs! What if we kill one ‘f you!?”

“If that was your intention, you’d have had handed the opportunity on a silver platter yesterday”, Thomas replied calmly, seemingly unfazed by her outbreak.

Julia shook her head fiercely. “That might be true, but what if one of your boys is hurt durin’ a fight? We might just not be able to help ourselves! Drinking blood is in our feckin’ nature, after all”, she hissed.

“Then we’d end you, Ms Leigh. This proposition is certainly a risk, but we think it is one worth to be taken. Also, from what Gibson and Tom told me Geoffrey was yesterday in a house literally drenched in blood and seemed to be mostly unfazed”, Esther stated.

“Yeah, ‘cause he had sucked dry an ancient leech bloody _minutes_ before – he wasn’t thirsty. But things might not always go that well”, Julia snarled.

The other woman merely shrugged. “I still think the risk is one worth to take”, she said unperturbed.

“Julia’s right, Tom – you’re proposing a deal with the devil. And even if neither Julia nor I get ever overwhelmed by our bloodlust, what tells you we won’t meddle with your thoughts? Things like this could destroy the guard as you should be _very_ well aware considering recent events”, Geoffrey stated with narrowed eyes.

“We would make sure that only men with excellent mental barriers would be working with you, and they would never be working alone. Still, I agree that there is a lingering risk even though I doubt you’d steep _so_ low without us noticing. But then… who knows better to fight hell than the devil himself?”, Thomas retorted, adding dryly “Sometimes, you have to fight fire with fire, Geoffrey”.

“That’s it, I’ve heard enough. Go and keep that shit to yourselves!”, Julia cried out, wrought up, and before anyone could do so much as move, she had stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her.

“I guess that’s answerin’ the question what she thinks ‘bout our offer – what ‘bout you, Geoffrey, you’re also gonna decline now your girlfriend ran off?”, Robert stated smugly.

The male ekon shook his head. “You’re mistaken, Rob. The phrasing Tom just used was… unlucky. Fighting fire with fire… was pretty much what Nimrod told her when she asked him why he had turned her. You just touched a sore point, I’m afraid, and Julia has a similar temperament as I do”. He sighed. “If you’d give me a minute – I’d like to talk to her so she calms down and can think _properly_ about that offer. I’d also like to think for a moment in peace about it myself, actually”. Thomas eyes widened at Geoffrey’s explanation, and he gave the ekon a small nod.

“We’ll be waiting, just try to make it quick, will you? We still have many other things to discuss”. The ekon inclined his head at that, heading out of the room and down the corridor afterwards, entering the room where his vampiric senses showed Julia’s outlines.

“If you came to tell me that I’m behaving ridiculously: Feck off”, the woman snarled, standing with her back to Geoffrey.

“I didn’t. You _will_ have to go back in there eventually, however, since we still need to discuss how to deal with Blackwood even if you decide to decline the offer”, the hunter replied.

“ _Even if_ I decide to decline it!? Geoffrey, you can’t seriously be considering it!?”, Julia cried out, finally turning around to the other ekon. “You are, aren’t you?”, she enquired as she saw the man’s expression. “Don’t you see it, Geoffrey!? Even _if_ this doesn’t go terribly wrong, even _if_ we can control our bloodlust, what do you think will happen when we eventually die? Will they just use Arthur’s or even _our_ blood since it’s so bloody handy to be able to _fight fire with fire_!?”, she yelled, waving her hands furiously.

Geoffrey sighed at that. _It’s just like I thought_. “No, Julia. Priwen is _not_ like your maker and I doubt they’re going to take the risk of turning someone. Hell, they’d be repelled by the very thought! Also, we can easily circumvent that by simply _not dying_ ”, he said with a slight smirk at the last sentence.

The woman rolled her eyes at that. “’f course, why didn’t I come up with this. Genius, Geoffrey, just genius”, she said sarcastically. She shook her head. “Aren’t you appalled? They’re just _throwin’ away_ everything Priwen stands for, aren’t they?”, she went on provocatively.

“If you think I am unfazed by that fact, Julia, then you couldn’t be more wrong. The very fact we’re still standing here without having to either fight or outrun them is against anything I was raised for. I do have reasons for considering their offer, however”, Geoffrey stated, pinching the bridge of his nose before straightening up and locking his eyes with hers.

“First of all, we could save lives, Julia – yes, I know of the risks of us fighting with humans, but it worked last night, didn’t it? Also”, he went on, ignoring the female ekon’s attempt to intercept, “we could use the resources Priwen could provide us with – and I am not only talking about ammunition and weapons. You know perfectly well what a trouble hunting down leeches in hiding can be and doing it is a hell of a lot easier if you have more eyes and ears at your disposal”.

“We’d manage. Nimrod does, too, doesn’t he?”, the woman retorted.

“Might be, but we’d be much more efficient otherwise. But those are not the only things I thought about. Tell me, Julia – if I was going on a murderous rampage through the city right now, would you stop me?”, Geoffrey enquired.

Julia frowned at that. “You wouldn’t do that. If you were a leech like that, I’d have put you down already”, she stated.

The hunter nodded slightly. “True, but the memories of the leeches you’ve drained in Dublin must’ve told you that many leeches don’t go completely bonkers immediately – it is a constant decline in many cases. So, again, tell me: If I was on such a way, would you put me out immediately, or would you hesitate? Search for excuses, even?”, he asked. He could see his conversation partner hesitate; her expression horrified.

“I… Geoffrey… You wouldn’t. You just wouldn’t, the very thought of you… No”, she finally said stubbornly, her voice catching at the end of the sentence. The hunter smiled sadly even if a small, egoistic part in him couldn’t help but feel delighted about her trust.

“Thought so – you’re emotionally entangled. As am I when it comes to you – of course we are”. He cleared his throat, trying to bite back how he felt. _This is not the time._ “We’re bloody _living together_ , for god’s sake! It’s normal. It’s… human, if one can ever describe a leech with that word. There are reasons why I usually _never_ sent anyone hunting a leech if they’d known the beast before its turning if the hunter in question wasn’t actively enquiring for it. These kinds of things just have a tendency to turn out badly”, the hunter went on.

The female ekon frowned at that. “But didn’t you and Carl…”, she started.

“Carl had another way to do things than I”, Geoffrey replied curtly. “But do you see what I am aiming for? I do trust neither you nor _myself_ enough anymore to keep an eye on each other. Not in the way it is needed when it comes to dealing with leeches. But the guard _certainly_ will”, he went on. Julia considered that for a moment, her lips pressed together, before she finally nodded hesitantly.

“I see your point, aye, and it’s reasonable”.

“So, you’re willing to _properly_ discuss their offer with them, now?”, Geoffrey enquired.

The woman nodded again. “Aye – but I’m still far from convinced, Geoffrey, and I sure ‘s hell won’t just go and kill everyone they point me at”.

The hunter shrugged. “I have also some things to discuss with them before agreeing to anything, but I would be surprised if they wouldn’t expect that”, he stated. “You’re coming?”, he asked afterwards, turning around to head back towards the office. Julia nodded silently, following him.

They could hear a hushed conversation as they approached the room which stopped as soon as they opened the door. “So, shall we take your reaction as a decline of our offer, Ms Leigh?”, Esther enquired.

Julia shook her head, closing the office door behind her and Geoffrey, before turning around to face the three guards. “No, and I apologise for my behaviour before. But while I am… willing to at least consider your proposal, I do have a question before we go into any further details”, she replied.

“Jus’ spit it out, beast”, Robert snarled, his repulsion of the whole topic evident.

“If Geoffrey and I decided to decline your offer, not willing to work together with you at all or only for ending Blackwood, what would you do, then? Would you try to end us here and now? Are you givin’ us really a choice or is this a matter of sink or swim?”, the female ekon enquired, studying the three humans intently.

Thomas smiled sadly at that. “You surely understand that Priwen cannot just let leeches roam about as they please, Ms Leigh. If you were to decline our offer, you would be on our list from that day on. However, I _do_ promise you we will not take any actions against you until this night ends as long as you take none against us. Also, whilst Priwen does usually end every leech it encounters, we _have_ sorted our list due to priority and since both you and Geoffrey seem to be relatively benevolent regarding humans, you would not fall into the high priority section. Does that answer your question sufficiently?”, he replied.

The brown-haired woman nodded at that, stating “Aye. And thank you for your honesty. So, if we _were_ joining you, what would you expect from us?”

“You would have quite diverse responsibilities, actually. First of all, we could use your affliction to get someone behind enemy lines on some occasions which could prove immensely useful when hunting organised groups of immortals. You have already proven your ability to scout an area and unearth vampire activities quite efficiently, so it won’t come to you as a surprise that we will expect you to do that. We will certainly expect you to assist us in fights, this will also give you the opportunity to feed from what I was told”, Esther started explaining.

“That won’t be enough – the feeding, I mean”, Geoffrey interrupted her.

The black-haired woman frowned. “What do you mean by that?”, she enquired sharply, suspicion in her eyes.

Julia and Geoffrey exchanged a look. “Whilst it is true that Julia and I have mainly relied on the blood of other leeches during the last few weeks, it is not our sole sustenance, and it also won’t be in the future. Maybe even less so – no, please hear me out”, Geoffrey said, raising his voice slightly as the three humans visibly got uneasy. “I assure you, I’m _not_ talking about _human_ blood – whilst leech blood makes us certainly stronger especially if we drain them completely, a single leech every few nights won’t be enough to sate us, not if we have to fight at least. Both Julia and I have therefore relied on animal blood if needed. You would need to provide us with such, or at least let us enough freedom to do so on our own. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee what is going to happen – famishing us is not a good idea on a long-term perspective”.

Thomas eyes went thoughtful at that. “Didn’t Ian also try to that – I remember you writing something like this in your report about him, back in the old days”, he enquired after a moment.

The male ekon nodded. “Aye, he did. But he didn’t add the sustenance the other leeches provide us with”.

“What animals do you prefer, then? And of what… numbers do we talk here?”, Esther asked.

“We… mostly had rats ‘til now, even though I’d be happy to try _anything_ else – they’re disgusting”, Julia replied, grimacing. “’s for the numbers… dunno, a few each night – depends on how much fightin’ we’ve gotta do”.

All three of the captains nodded, Thomas stating “I don’t think this is going to be much of a problem. What Esther didn’t mention yet – we would also expect you to help us studying your abilities and weaknesses”. He smiled reassuringly as Geoffrey’s gaze went alarmed, turning towards his friend. “Not in the way _Carl_ did, Geoffrey – first of all the very thought of doing something like _that_ to you sickens me, and second we couldn’t expect any… healthy working relationship when we _torture_ you. But your insight on mesmerisation or those special abilities some leeches have could help us immensely – hell, we’ve already learned _a lot_ during the last few nights while working with you”.

The male ekon nodded. “How much freedom will you give us? Will we be watched all the time? And will we have any sayin’ which leeches we hunt and which we don’t?” Julia enquired.

“We’re not gonna watch you all the time, ‘s much ‘s I’d prefer that, it wouldn’t work anyway. How much you’ll be observed exactly ‘s still to be decided, we thought it’d be better if we jus’ try it out – we’ll use our hunt for that Blackwood bastard ‘s kind ‘f a probation period to see if that alliance can work at all. We’d provide you with a space to live, though, an’ that’ll be closely watched. We’d also expect you to show us all your lairs tonight if you agree on workin’ together. Regardin’ the other point – we ‘ad quite some discussion ‘bout this, actually. Thomas an’ Esther got the opinion you should be able to choose your targets yourself an’ I’ll give in to the majority for now, but if I get the feelin’ you’re protectin’ your fella beasts too much, I _will_ intervene an’ if that means we lose our pet leeches for good, so be it”, Robert replied with glacial expression. Julia felt a little bit uneasy about those terms, but in the end, she had to admit that it sounded mostly fair. Fairer than she’d have thought, actually.

* * *

The conversation went on for another while like that, the five of them working on further details like if and in which amount Julia and Geoffrey would get a compensation like all higher ranking Priwen members did, if Geoffrey should keep his old contacts he used to have for his work in Priwen or not and so on, leaving some things in abeyance to be fine-tuned later on. In the end, both Julia and Geoffrey agreed on accepting the offer, and, after some hesitation on Robert’s part, the head of the Priwen guard also agreed on the terms they had discussed. Julia could practically feel the gladness radiating from Geoffrey as well as from Thomas and Esther when they finally were done with their negotiations.

“As much as I’d like to have a toast on our successful conversation right now, I’m afraid we still have other problems to talk about”, Priwen’s leader finally stated, an exhausted smile on his face.

“I also doubt you’d _really_ like us smackin’ a rat against your cups – having hairs in one’s drink really isn’t nice, and I know what I’m talkin’ about, we had a cat when I was little”, Julia said with a smirk. Thomas blinked in surprise at that comment, while Esther snickered silently.

“You’re right, Tom. So, how did you proceed regarding the police? Or is that leech-restricted information?”, Geoffrey enquired, ignoring Julia’s previous comment.

The blonde man shook his head. “It isn’t. And you were right last night, whilst Norris wasn’t exactly thrilled to see me, he was a great help. Unfortunately, we had not only to cover up the things that went down in Clapham, those leeches were very busy the last few nights and Norris also suspects some of the officers were mesmerised. If we’re lucky, then it was Warner who did it and –“

“It wasn’t, there’s nothing of that in the memories I’ve retrieved and since that leech kept a close eye on his victims of this ability, I wouldn’t miss something like that completely. I do know that there were several other former Ascalon members involved in the scheme, probably it’s one of their handiwork”, Geoffrey interrupted his friend.

Thomas nodded darkly at that. “So that problem will remain for the moment. All in all, I think we’ve managed to avert the worst of it, but if any other big incident is being blamed on Priwen it could end badly… we’ll have to be careful. Unluckily, this also means hunting down the infected Ascalon members will get much harder since many of them will be upstanding members of society”.

**_I might be able to help you with that_** _,_ Nimrod’s voice suddenly sounded in Julia’s head.

“Don’t tell me you’ve listened to all of our conversation, Nimrod!”, Julia said, paling. _So much for my ability to feel him listening in_ , she thought.

**_Sensing things like these does need quite some focus, Childe, and your focus was currently on the conversation you were having. Also, I didn’t listen to all of it, I am not able to do that for the length of the discussion you had. I merely listened in occasionally as soon as I realised what you were discussing._ **

_Great. Couldn’t you just warn me if you eavesdrop? Give me some privacy, for god’s sake!_

**_You might have removed yourself from the conversation if I had done so. Also, I do not grant privileges to those who do not deserve it and if you are not able to shield your mind properly from my intrusion, you obviously still need to be observed._ **

_Thank you very much, you fucker. So, I actually CAN shield my mind from you?_ , Julia enquired, thinking about Geoffrey’s suggestion from the night before.

**_I think you know the answer already, Childe – the suggestion your mate made is a very good one. But back to the topic – I am currently hunting for the very blood drinkers you were just talking about and have already destroyed several of them. Priwen bothering with them would be a waste of resources._ **

_And why should they trust anything you’re saying? Hell, even I don’t really trust you!_

**_That is hardly my problem, Childe. Do as you please, I was merely offering additional knowledge so you won’t waste your time and energy._** With that, he withdrew.

“Bloody wanker”, Julia mumbled under her breath, again only now realising that the whole room was staring at her. Again.

“I assume your Sire has listened in into our conversation?”, Esther enquired after a moment of silence.

Julia nodded sheepishly. “Aye, at least to parts of it”, she stated, repeating her conversation with Nimrod as good as she was able to.

“I really don’t like that bloody beast listening in whenever it likes to – you’ll have to work with her on her mental defences as soon as possible, Geoffrey”, Thomas stated as she was done.

The ekon nodded with a dark look on his face. “We will. But taking down that bloody Blackwood bastard has priority right now; we can worry about Nimrod later on. I thought Julia and I could continue cleaning out the canals. We might find the beast’s lair this way since it might have access to them and with the decrease of infected beasts down there we’d also decrease the further spread of infection. Not to mention the fact that we might get further helpful memories of one of the leeches. We’d kill several birds with one stone”, he suggested.

Priwen’s leader nodded at that. “Agreed. I will send a contingent of guards with you, however – both to have your back and to keep an eye on you. I trust you two to make sure this won’t turn into a death trap for them, if at all possible. Esther and I’ll work with the Yard in the meantime and I’ve also already wrote some letters to the few contacts in the politics we have – it’s really a pity Angus isn’t here anymore. He would’ve been a great help with that last part”. They used the next few minutes for further discussions about their exact plans even though Julia could tell that the Priwen guards were leaving things out – not that she could blame them, especially after what just happened with Nimrod.

“Where and when do we meet the boys, then? Julia and I should probably make a short stop at the Reid mansion, the doctor leech wanted to contact the brotherhood as well as some of his leech friends to see if he finds out anything”, Geoffrey finally enquired.

“Depends. You still owe us the whereabouts of your lairs, _leeches_ , they can meet you there an’ ‘elp bringin’ your stuff into Carl’s old safehouse”, Robert growled. Carl’s safehouse was the place they had agreed on for Julia and Geoffrey to stay in – for now at least. Carl had inherited the place from an old man he had once saved from a leech and while the small flat in the first storey that Geoffrey had already used on his second day as leech was perfect for him and Julia to stay in, the ground floor as well as the cellar had been made suitable to house several guards at once alongside with keeping a nice armoury if the need should ever arise.

Geoffrey sighed at that. “Then I’d suggest we meet at the south-east entrance of Stonebridge cemetery. Our hideout is nearby”, he said.

Robert nodded slightly at that. “10:30 at Stonebridge, then. Be prompt”, he stated. Both ekons only rolled their eyes at that but nodded their affirmation, getting up alongside with Thomas and the captains.

* * *

Julia and Geoffrey headed straight to the West End afterwards, finding Jonathan at the Reid mansion. Disappointingly, the doctor had no real news, even if he was carefully delighted about the prospect of Priwen not actively hunting them but pursuing Jacob Blackwood as allies instead. The black-haired ekon promised he would keep close contact to Old Bridget in case she would find something (and also probably to warn her of the presence of hunters in the canals) as well as contacting them if Elisabeth’s ventures with her acquaintances she was busy with right now should bring any news or if the brotherhood would contact him – Julia and Geoffrey had made sure to make clear Jonathan was off-limits for Priwen for the duration of the investigation as long as he didn’t kill anyone since they needed his help. After a few more words with the doctor, the two hunters departed, heading towards Stonebridge cemetery and having some rats on their way. They were a few minutes early, but after a while, the sound of an engine announced the arrival of their new companions. Much to Geoffrey’s surprise, Robert got out of the vehicles arriving, together with three other guards, all of them high ranking members.

“And now I’d have thought you wouldn’t want to hunt with a leech”, the ekon stated dryly.

“Someone’s oughta ‘ave an eye on you, beast, an’ since Tom an’ Greenwood are too busy with negotiating I’ll do the deed for now. So, where’s that hideout ‘f yours? Don’t tell me you’re sleepin’ in a fuckin’ crypt, even though it’d be appropriate”, the bald captain replied with a scoff.

“Just follow me”, Julia stated, heading over the bridge and towards the door of the building.

“Geoffrey’s got his stuff upstairs”, she stated after opening the combination lock, heading towards her bed straight away.

“Wait… you’re _livin’_ _together_?”, Robert enquired disbelievingly.

Geoffrey merely shrugged. “Was the only secure place we found, and it gave us an opportunity to have an eye on each other in case any of us falls to their bloodlust”, the ekon replied as a short form of explanation, heading upstairs. Robert and one of the guards followed him, while the other two men stayed downstairs with Julia. Geoffrey could see the dubious looks the men shoot at the laboratory and he had to suppress a chuckle at the gasp Robert made when he saw the cage with the bed next to it.

“What on earth – is that some kink of yours, Geoffrey!?”, the bald man asked after a few moments of gathering himself, the ekon having used the time to fetch his suitcase from under the bed.

“You seriously think I’d answer that question if it was the case? But no, it isn’t. This place was apparently some research facility of the brotherhood and they caged a skal in here before the researcher was turned by the bloody beast he was researching”, Geoffrey explained, placing the few belongings that weren’t already in the suitcase inside while he spoke.

“Ah, Geoffrey, now you’re lyin’ – the look you gave me when I shoved you inside that thing clearly spoke of true love! We should take the bloody thing with us, for sentimental reasons!”, Julia’s voice sounded from behind, the woman just emerging from the stairs, a mischievous smirk playing on her lips. “Jonathan and I had to put him in there when he first woke up since he tried to attack us”, she added as an explanation.

Robert raised his eyebrows at that but didn’t enquire further. Shortly after, they left the building again, the ekons hopping on the loading area of the lorries. The drive to the safehouse was brief, and after a short discussion Robert gave the two ekons a few minutes alone to unpack as they arrived. “We’ve put an additional bed into the attic since Geoffrey insisted that you’re not his girl, Leigh”, the bald man said before closing the front door behind him.

* * *

“Do you smell this?”, Julia enquired directed at Geoffrey as the guards were gone, a delightful grin on her lips.

“Smell what? It smells like a stale house”, Geoffrey asked, frowning.

The grin on the woman’s face widened. “Exactly! No more stinky canal, no more traces of old blood stains! And look at that _furniture_! It’s old, yeah, but it’s _decent_! No cracks, no stains, and it actually fits together!”, she stated delightfully, gesticulating at the furniture. “Oh, wait, I’ve gotta try the beds”, she added, vanishing directly afterwards in a puff of smoke. Only some moments later, she was back, still having a wide grin on her face. “I’ll take the attic; the mattress of the bed is _awesome_! Also, it’s really spacious and… oh, _Geoffrey!_ ”, she exclaimed, suddenly braking into tears.

“Julia!? What is it?”, Geoffrey enquired worriedly, dropping his suitcase and pulling her into an embrace when she didn’t answer at first.

“It’s… ’s just… it’s like a _home_ , Geoffrey, an actual _home_ , not a room in some shady inn or a house left open where I have to be afraid someone’s gonna come in and chase me away! It’s… it’s _furnished,_ and they even said they’d _pay_ us and… and…”, she sniffed, curling her arms around him tightly and breaking out into sobs again.

“Shh, shh, Julia, it’s alright”, the hunter said soothingly, still somewhat startled by her sudden outbreak. After a few more moments, she finally withdrew.

“S…Sorry, that was s…stupid”, she said, still sniffing. “I just… when… when I was turned I’ve could only watch as my life fell apart – I couldn’t work anymore since I could not go outside during the day and I didn’t dare to visit my friends because I might hurt them and then I moved to London and it got only worse ‘cause while I knew that Stephen was still payin’ the rent for the flat in Dublin he will have returned by now and I just vanished without much of an explanation so he will be pissed and I don’t think I have that flat anymore and then I didn’t even have a proper place to sleep anymore when I had to leave the turtle an’ the company’s also gone and I didn’t know how to get money on the long term and even though I know that the guard might decide to just end us eventually it’s still a home and… and now I’m just babbling. I’m sorry”, she went on in a stream of words, tears running over her cheeks.

“It’s alright, Julia”, Geoffrey repeated, pulling her back into his arms and rubbing her back. “You don’t have to apologise. I know that feeling”, he went on, his voice toneless at the end. They stood there for the next few minutes, Geoffrey rubbing Julia’s back while she had circled her arms around his waist, hiding her face in his chest. Finally, they broke apart, Julia wiping the tear stains from her cheeks sheepishly.

“I guess I’ll better bring my stuff upstairs and close the window shutters there, we oughta hunt”, she stated awkwardly, her gaze shortly lingering on Geoffrey’s face before she averted it. Geoffrey merely nodded, not entirely trusting his voice and missing the feeling of her arms around him already. As she descended towards the narrow stairs, he went to the small bedroom after picking up his suitcase again. They didn’t need long since they reckoned they’d unpack their things properly later on, so they met with the other Priwen guards down on the streets shortly after. They went towards the sewer entrance Julia and Geoffrey had used to leave the canals when they had found Andrew, the trip not taking them long since the safehouse was nearby. Bracing themselves, the two ekons went inside, followed by the four guards, the foul, humid air of the sewers greeting them.

* * *

_Several nights later, Geoffrey’s and Julia’s new safehouse_

Geoffrey ruffled through his hair as he went through the last sentences he had written in his letter to one of his contacts in the Scotland Yard. While Julia and he had spent the last few nights hunting infected leeches down in the sewers with the company of a few guards, they had decided to stay mostly at the safehouse this night since two incidents including a lot of spilled blood, some of it spelling the name ‘Priwen’ in one case, had happened in the morning of the last night and most of the higher ranking guards were still busy with their search for clues and with covering things up. Geoffrey had offered his and Julia’s help for the clue search, but Thomas had politely declined, his still incomplete trust for them being evident.

Their ventures into the canals during the last few nights had not revealed the hoped results – sure, they had been able to clear out plenty of infected leeches and due to the backup the guards provided, the two ekons had been able to completely drain their targets more than once, but they still had neither found a clue of Blackwood’s hideout, nor did the leeches Geoffrey and Julia drained know anything about Blackwood’s plans. It had provided them with quite some knowledge about the sewer’s layout, however, and Geoffrey also had some feeling they had grown stronger from the blood they had consumed – it was not as noticeable as during his first few nights, sure, but it was there.

With another sigh, the ekon folded the letter and tucked it into an envelope – neither of Priwen’s leadership had been happy about involving him into their dealings with the police, but it had been necessary. There had been more and more bodies popping up during the last few nights, each of them having some material typical for Priwen at them whilst the body itself not belonging to the Priwen guard – sometimes it had been letters or ripped out pages from the guard’s manual, other times it had been weaponry or clothes. Together with the evidence that had already accumulated before, some police officers had voiced the thought of Priwen being a new gang, maybe involved in the cause for the many exsanguinated bodies they thought to be the handiwork of a serial killer or a cult.

Geoffrey wasn’t sure if they were lucky or unlucky about the fact that the Wet Boot Boys had been quite restless during the last few days, lately even one of the newspapers claiming they had beaten up some West End guy in jail who had been imprisoned for fencing poisons – while their activity certainly kept the Yard busy, it would make them thinking of Priwen as a gang more likely. Anyhow, the recent events meant that they needed as many Yard inspectors on their side as they could which meant that Geoffrey just had to help where he could since he still had some contacts no one else of the guard had.

Not all things had gone entirely bad, however – while Esther’s investigation of the documents they had retrieved in Clapham had been unsettling due to the sheer amounts of money to be used, most of the deals had apparently not taken place, yet, and Warner’s death had probably stalled the plans. Also, whilst neither the brotherhood (who had answered to Jonathan’s letter merely with the curt note that they knew of the matter and were handling it with all their resources, whatever that was supposed to mean) nor the sewer skals had been of much help, Lady Ashbury had at least been able to cast her net wide, assuring them whilst Blackwood had some influence, it was not sufficient for the fulfilment of his plans by far. If the bloody leech wanted to act, he would need the influence the money of his other plans would give him, first, and that would need more time. Time they should use to end the bloody beast.

_But for that we need to find him, first, and even though the boys can finally move freely again and the fact that Nimrod’s been busy considering the leech corpses from Ascalon members the men stumbled over recently, we are not any closer in doing that_ , Geoffrey pondered disgruntled, looking up as a familiar presence tickled his senses. And, sure enough, a commotion downstairs confirmed it. _What is Reid doing here? We usually meet at his mansion to avoid any accidents – it must be urgent_ , the hunter wondered, getting up from his chair.

“You’ve also sensed him, didn’t you?”, Julia enquired, coming into the room from the kitchen where she had been working on an answer to another letter regarding that heritage of hers – she hadn’t gone into any details about its content, but she didn’t seem to be put out by it too much. Geoffrey nodded silently, turning to the front door as a loud knock sounded from there.

“Your… new friend says that he needs to speak to you two urgently, even though he would refuse to tell us what it is about”, Esther said when Geoffrey opened the door. The female Priwen captain had set up her office downstairs since most of her duties required her to do deskwork anyway, and with that arrangement she could always double as one of the guards for Priwen’s newest ‘acquisitions’. Behind her stood a distressed looking Jonathan, a piece of paper clutched tightly in his hand.

“May I come in, please?”, the doctor enquired in a pressed voice.

“Of course”, Geoffrey replied, stepping aside. “What is it – do you have any news of your… friends?”, he went on.

The black-haired ekon shook his head as he went through the door. “Elisabeth found this in her mailbox this evening”, he said quietly, handing over the paper to Geoffrey which revealed to be a letter in a quite posh handwriting. Frowning, the hunter started to read it, Julia and Esther also peaking at it while stretching their necks around his arms.

> Ma chouchoute,
> 
> You cannot imagine how delighted I was to hear You to be back in the city! Since I do not know of the degree of education the garçonnet has You seem to fancy lately, I have decided to keep this letter of mine mostly in this barbaric language as I know little boys can be unbearably curious and I wanted to save You from the most irritating need to translate my words for him. I must admit, I was ever so slightly crestfallen that You have not tried to contact me or our beloved daughter immediately after Your return, but I assume Your new little pet occupied all Your precious time. There is no need to worry, Elisabeth my beloved, Your dearest husband has seen we can make up for the lost time. I thought we all would surely enjoy a family dinner at midnight and what better place is there than the wonderful house where You first met our most lovely daughter? Just think of our wonderful dinner at the Mansion d’honneur – I am sure it will be even more delightful now with our daughter joining us. Feel free to bring your garçonnet and his little friends with you, I know how sad the young ones can be if left out. We also surely won’t mind if You showed up earlier, but I am afraid this kind of dinner needs to be eaten at midnight latest if we do not want it to spoil.
> 
> Charlotte and I are looking forward to see You,
> 
> Your beloved husband Jacob

There was a short P.S. in French, but Geoffrey’s little knowledge of the language was not sufficient to make anything out of it – while Carl had made sure to teach him Latin so he would be able to read the older texts about leeches, he hadn’t bothered with any other foreign language, so he was stuck with the few words he had learned during the great war. “Does anyone of you know what the rest says?”, he enquired.

He felt Julia nodding beside him, her cheeks slightly flushed. “Aye, at least… most parts of it. It’s quite… lewd, ‘s far ‘s I can tell. Definitely private and nothin’ that’d help us”. Her gaze flickered to Geoffrey for a moment with an unreadable expression on her face, before she turned to Jonathan. “What’s that Mansion d’honneur?”, she asked.

“That is the name of the orphanage where she and Jacob had caused a bloodbath before Elisabeth cured herself”, the doctor replied tonelessly, his face even paler than usually.

Geoffrey felt himself also going pale. “When that beast talks about ‘the place where she met her daughter first’…”, he started.

“He means the orphanage were Elisabeth adopted Charlotte from, yes. It is located in the West End – Elisabeth gave me the address. I will meet her there, and I hoped you would be accompanying us”, the other ekon answered silently.

“It’s a trap. And an obvious one, too”, Julia stated grimly.

Jonathan nodded. “I know. But what else shall we do?”, he said in a still toneless voice.

“Many of the boys are busy on the streets, but I’d be able to get a formidable enough force ready within an hour. We could barge in then and end it once and for all”, Esther suggested, her eyes burning with cold fury.

Geoffrey shook his head at her. “No, Esther – the bloody beast would sense you long before you arrive since it’ll be waiting for us and we don’t want to risk it making a run for it or hurting the children – if it is not too late already for the latter. Also, it has already proven to be stronger than our doctor leech here and we will have to fight in confined space. No, it is better if we leeches go first and try our luck. You can see that you gather as many men as possible in the meantime and take position around the house. If we fail, that bloody leech will have to leave eventually and that’s when you can hit it”.

Esther hesitated for a moment, but finally, she nodded. “Just see to it that you don’t fail, Geoffrey – you’ve proven valuable despite your condition and I am also horrified by the thought of all these children dying”, she said curtly. The hunter nodded, and after stacking themselves up with weapons and ammunition, the three ekons went out towards the West End, feasting on as many rats as possible on their way.

“I’ve got several blood serums with me which should be able to speed up our regeneration process as well as refilling at least some of our blood reserves – they have to be applied intravenously, however, so I will keep them for now since you’ll need my help for the application anyway”, Jonathan said quietly as they were almost there.

The other two ekons nodded, Julia replying “I’ve also taken that blood from Talltree with me – Geoffrey I assume you’ve also got yours?”. The hunter nodded at that, feeling for the small flask they had used for splitting up the blood in his coat. The next few minutes went by in silence again, all of them brooding about the abilities of Jacob Elisabeth had told them of a few nights before. They were plenty, and the Lady had warned them they probably would have only grown during the last decades. Finally, they encountered the now familiar shape of Elisabeth.

“I see you have done your best to feed – good”, the woman said silently as they approached her. Other than usually, she was wearing sturdy clothes and trousers, the shape of a gun visible under her opened jacket and a dagger hanging at her hip.

“I could try and scout the area”, Julia suggested, but Lady Ashbury shook her head.

“Better not – Jacob is quite a master of the shadow veil himself and I fear he might be able to sense you. It is preferable to not go near the building alone. You might use it when we approach, however, since we won’t lose anything with trying and you might be lucky”, she said quietly.

“Then we shouldn’t wait – Priwen will be here with backup in about an hour, but I told them to wait outside in case we don’t manage to end the beast”, Geoffrey stated. The lady nodded at that, and the four ekons slowly started to approach the building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand of course I had to end with a cliffhanger here >:).


	36. Divorce

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's showdown time. Also, in this chapter is a small nod to Russell of Writing Flower's "An American Survivor in London" - just couldn't help myself when I had the idea.
> 
> All French words and phrases should have hovertexts like usually. Please tell me if I fucked up with the French somewhere.

Spotting the correct building was easy, since the lifeforce of the many children inside gleamed to the ekons like a beacon. Much to their surprise, the children seemed to be alone on the first storey of the house, however, the outlines of two immortals glowing below them on the ground floor. Just as the four vampires had reached the point where they were able to sense the beings inside the orphanage, Geoffrey saw Julia vanishing, now not even a breath of air telling anyone of them where she was. Drawing in a deep breath, Elisabeth went for the door handle of the front door. “I’ll go first”, she uttered, pulling the door open afterwards.

“Elisabeth, ma chérie! What a delight to finally see you again and even earlier than I would have expected you! You must have been as eager to see us as we were to see you! Oh, and I see you have brought your friends with you, ma chouchoute – how very delightful!”, they were greeted by a smooth, male voice when they stepped into the foyer.

Geoffrey couldn’t suppress a sharp intake of breath as he spotted its owner. He fitted the description Jonathan had given them perfectly, his elegant appearance only broken by his fierce, dark, snake-like eyes. The hunter had only once seen a leech with eyes like that, and that had been long ago back when he was still a rookie in the guard. But he knew that only the most dangerous leeches had such eyes, and the constant feeling of alarm his senses gave him whenever he looked at the beast only confirmed this knowledge. Just two steps behind the ekon currently occupying his attention stood another vampire, her skin being pale despite its natural tan and even though her eyes did not yet show the same darkness as her maker’s, her pupils had already formed into slits. _That must be Charlotte_, the hunter thought, a shudder creeping over his skin.

“Jacob. Long time, no see. I thought you to be dead”, Elisabeth answered in a cold tone.

“Of course. Je suis désolé mon bien-aimé, but I deemed it necessary to remove myself from your influence until I had found a way you would feel save with me again. And I have, Elisabeth mine! I know you have been worried about the hunters, but you will not need to worry anymore, ma chérie! Soon, all of the nuisances stopping us to develop our full potential will be gone and we can finally embrace our feelings for each other again!”, Jacob said delightfully, even though Geoffrey could see that the smile on the man’s lips did not reach his eyes. Carefully, the hunter started moving sidewards, Jonathan doing the same on Elisabeth’s other side.

“Please, Jacob, stop with this madness! I know you have lived your last centuries in bloodlust and slaughter, but this is not you! It is the disease _I_ cursed you with, don’t you see this!? I know I have tried to kill you, dear, but with the antidote Jonathan developed we could try again to cure you! Just give us one attempt, that is all I ask from you”, Elisabeth said soothingly.

Jacob’s face dropped into a hateful sneer at that. “ _Antidote_!? What for, Elisabeth? There is nothing in me that must be cured, but if your new _pet doctor_ does not see this, I might have to teach him!”, he snarled, turning to Jonathan now.

Before he could do anything else, however, the sound of a crossbow going loose interrupted him. Faster than Geoffrey had ever seen any leech moving, Jacob whirled around, evading the bolt aimed at him completely and shooting a gun at Julia who had appeared at his side. The female ekon hissed in pain when she couldn’t evade the shot completely, the bullet digging into her side. “So, you’re the fillette that hurt our daughter so much she came crying to her father!? Starting the celebrations before we are even done with greeting each other is rather unbecoming, young lady – Charlotte, why don’t you pass on the lesson I taught you regarding proper _respect_ while I prepare the meal? They seem to need the lesson”, Jacob taunted, vanishing into thin air before anyone could move afterwards.

Charlotte grinned maliciously at his words. “With pleasure, father”, she said, moving towards Julia.

“No Charlotte, I won’t allow that!” Lady Ashbury exclaimed, raising her arm and freezing her daughter on the spot. “Go, you three! I will see that I get through to her, but you need to stop Jacob before he hurts any of the children!”, she cried out.

Julia didn’t even wait for Elisabeth’s order, but dashed for the door at the end of the room immediately as Jacob vanished. It led to a narrow staircase and just as Julia reached the end of it, she thought she could make out a flicker in the air in the middle of the corridor following afterwards. _That must be him!_ , Julia thought, aiming her crossbow which she had reloaded in the meantime roughly in the flicker’s direction and shooting it. With a pained snarl, Jacob got visible again, Julia’s bolt sticking out of his hip. He did not hesitate much on his way over the corridor, however, apparently heading towards the door at its right end – Julia could sense the children there. _I can’t let him get to them!_ , she thought desperately, only remembering too well her struggles to keep Charlotte away from Clarence when she had kidnapped him. Her eyes flickered to the door at the end of the corridor. _If I could force him through that he’d have to get through me before getting to the kids… But this is madness – he’s much bigger and stronger than me_. Still, it was the only option she could think of in that short time, so Julia gathered all the strength she could muster and put it into a jump at Jacob’s still moving back.

Much to her surprise, her plan actually worked, the combined force of Jacob’s and her movement carrying the two ekons straight through the closed door, splintering the thin wood in the process. This also meant that Julia now was very much in the range of the other ekon’s claws, however, a fact the beast immediately used, regaining balance faster than Julia would ever have anticipated. Cursing under her breath, the woman managed only just to dodge his strikes, now very thankful for all the training with Geoffrey. She knew better than drawing her dagger, though (she still dropped it more often than actually hitting Geoffrey successfully with it during their training sessions) and shadow-jumped back, raising her arm to call her shadows instead.

**_Pain in his side, white searing pain. Turning around furiously despite his right leg still not being properly healed, he beheaded the blood drinker that had clawed at him with a single strike of his sword._ **

“What the…!?”, Julia exclaimed at the sudden intrusion into her thoughts, losing her focus before she had even started to call her shadows. She had no time to ponder on it, though, since Jacob had caught up with her, his claws aiming at her.

**_The smell of blood filled his nose, its amount almost dazzling him as if he was a neonate. His focus was waning, the attack on his mind from the ancient one before had taken its toll, and he didn’t have the time yet to recuperate. Allowing himself a little groan, Nimrod crossed the hall in a single jump, giving him enough time to at least close his severest wounds while his enemies closed up to him. _**The new assault of images had stopped Julia from dodging the last of Jacob’s strikes, which sent her flying through the room, the woman colliding with the wall with a loud thump. _Damn it, Nimrod! Stop that!_ , she thought, desperately trying to reach her maker while evading another of Jacob’s attacks.

“You’re quite a nuisance, fillette! Someone should teach you manners!”, the snake-eyed ekon snarled. His words were drowned out by another flood of pictures and thoughts invading Julia’s mind, however.

**_They had closed up again, it must have been decades since he fought such a number of enemies at once, at least enemies of this strength. Grinning about the challenge, Nimrod leaped at one of them, delight flooding him as the beast’s blood filled his mouth._** Julia couldn’t feel any delight, though, since Jacob had grabbed her at her throat now, pining her against the wall behind her with a malicious sneer on his face.

“Got you – now, let’s get my price”, he purred into her ear. Julia struggled, but both the pain emerging from her neck as her opponent bit her as well as another flood of thoughts stopped her endeavours.

**_Most of his opponents were dead, and the few ones remaining started to retreat. He would have none of that. He just needed a little focus and – there, all of them frozen on the spot, held by his control over their blood._ **

_BLOODY HELL, NIMROD! STOP THIS AT ONCE!_ Julia thought desperately, even trying to back it up with her mesmerisation, but no words left her mouth, Jacob’s drinking at her throat rendering her unable to speak.

**_Childe!? What… I must have lost the restraint over my thoughts! Where are you!?_** , Nimrod enquired, Julia feeling his terror as he saw her assailant through her eyes. Before she could even attempt to answer his question, Jacob was torn from her throat, however, sent flying through the room and leaving Julia slumping onto the ground, all strength having fled her legs. She realised only now that the world had turned grey except for the crimson of the blood to her eyes, the thirst she was feeling making it hard to focus. Then, suddenly, she felt Nimrod shielding her mind.

**_Tell me, and fast, my mind is exhausted already, and I am in hostile environment_** , his voice sounded in her head. As fast as Julia could, she thought about the letter Lady Ashbury had received, the children held hostage and the address of the orphanage. **_Hold on, I will come to help you and your allies as soon as I can, but I am afraid Pawl and I are in some dire situation here_** _._

_Priwen’s going to send backup within less than an hour to take Blackwood out if we should not make it. Be careful_ , Julia thought, dizziness filling her head, almost drowning out the sensation of the rim of a bottle being held to her mouth.

**_You’d rather heed this advice yourself, Julia_** , Nimrod replied darkly before withdrawing.

* * *

Immediately after Elisabeth’s exclamation the door at the end of the room seemed to open by itself, and Geoffrey could see Julia slip through the crack as it closed again while he also headed towards it as fast as he could. It proved not to be fast enough, however, the door snapping shut as it closed just as he and Jonathan reached it, the lock not opening when the hunter tried the door handle. Without hesitation, the ekon threw himself against it, knowing from experience that a door like this one was no match for vampiric strength. And indeed, the lock of the door broke out of its frame at his third attempt. The loud crack caused by his endeavours seemed to be echoed by a similar noise from above, and Geoffrey hurried up the stairs towards it, Jonathan following directly behind him.

The stairs led into a narrow corridor with several doors, the one at the end being broken open. The hunter almost tripped over a corpse as he headed towards said door as fast as he could, but he couldn’t bother himself to take a further look since he saw Jacob and Julia fighting, the latter one obviously being in trouble. Just as he barged through the door, it leading to a large room with several beds inside, Blackwood grabbed Julia at her throat, uttering something into her ear and biting down into her neck afterwards. With a furious snarl, Geoffrey shadow-jumped towards them, grabbing Jacob and pulling him away from Julia, sending the beast flying through the room while he did so. Julia didn’t even seem to notice it, however, since her only reaction was to slide down to the ground when her legs gave in, her gaze distant, the expression on her face reminding Geoffrey painfully of Ascalon.

“Tend to her, I’ll distract Jacob”, Jonathan ordered as he saw the hunter’s expression, drawing his sword and shadow-stepping between their opponent and Julia. Geoffrey only nodded, raising a big blood shield around Julia and himself while digging in his coat for the flask with the blood Talltree had given them. After opening it as fast as he could, he brought it to Julia’s lips, urging her to drink with his movements. The effect of the blood was instant. The wounds that had covered her whole body, the one at her neck being the severest, closed instantly and even her cheeks seemed to flush slightly, Julia’s gaze getting sharp again. _Thank goodness!_ , Geoffrey thought, relief flooding him. He’d rather not ponder too much on how he’d feel if he would have lost her.

“Geoffrey? What… watch out!”, Julia exclaimed, grabbing the hunter and rolling the two of them aside, the two ekons evading only just a blood spear directed at them as she did so. The spear exploded as it hit the wall behind them, however, as well as the two other ones that had been aimed at Jonathan, the force of the poisonous blood that had been set free by the explosion breaking Geoffrey’s shield. Cursing violently, Geoffrey went towards Blackwood with drawn sword to aid the doctor, jumping over one of the beds on his way, only to be frozen on the spot as Jacob took control of his blood.

Jonathan had barely time to at least heal the worst of the wounds the explosion hitting him had caused when Jacob was already onto him again. The snake-eyed ekon used a combination of a dagger and his claws for his attacks, the speed and force of them forcing the doctor more and more into a corner. Then, suddenly, the assault was stopped as his opponent was grabbed by several shadow tendrils which started to cut into his flesh at once. Sighing with relief, Jonathan fumbled for the small box he kept the syringes with the serums in while stepping back.

Still surprised about the renewed energy the blood Geoffrey had fed her with had granted her, Julia reloaded her crossbow while Geoffrey drew closer to Jacob again. Just as she was done, however, the hunter suddenly froze on the spot, Blackwood eyeing the brown-haired ekon with a malicious grin and raised fist. _You’re not the only one with leech abilities, you bloody beast and I won’t let you hurt Geoffrey if I can help it!_ , Julia thought with a snarl on her lips, raising her arm and calling for her shadows.

She had been struggling to feel the hate needed for her shadows to become lethal during her fight with Charlotte, her lack of resolve allowing her opponent to flee in the end. This time, it was almost too easy, the tendrils cutting through the beast’s flesh almost immediately and causing it to scream loudly while Julia focused on all the hatred and wrath she was feeling towards him. Her success was only short-lived, however. All of a sudden, the shadows slicing through Jacob’s flesh were stopped by a blood-shield emerging out of his body, forcing Julia’s shadow-tendrils to withdraw as it expanded more and more. Julia tried desperately to force her shadows back onto the beast, but in the end the tendrils dissipated while Jacob’s shield exploded violently, poisonous blood spraying through the room and burning on Julia’s skin wherever it hit her. With a furious curse, Julia shot her crossbow at her opponent. The beast managed to dodge, however, moving with even more speed and violence than before.

Jonathan had just managed to inject himself with two serums causing his wounds to close and his blood pool to regenerate as Jacob managed to break free from the shadow’s chaining him. The snake-eyed ekon began to attack Geoffrey with almost impossible speed. _I know this kind of fighting style_ , the doctor thought, his eyes widening. He had used it himself more than once when faced with an otherwise hopeless situation, after all – Jacob was using the same ability that Jonathan had used when fighting Mr Chadana. _He’ll be unstoppable as long as he is like this – except…_ It was terribly dangerous since Jonathan knew only too well about his lack of control when he did this since it had cost the life of a frightening number of Priwen guards back in the Finsbury theatre when he had tried to free Edgar, but he didn’t see another possibility. Hoping for the best, the doctor withdrew the control over his inner beast and set it free, already launching himself at Jacob while he did so.

Julia had just reloaded her crossbow to aid Geoffrey, as suddenly Jonathan attacked Blackwood from the side, the doctor’s furious claw blows causing their opponent to stagger back. With a frenzied expression Julia had never seen on him before, Jonathan was right onto the beast, forcing it to retreat further while Geoffrey used the time for a hasty retreat, bleeding from several wounds, causing Julia to frown with concern. She tried to aim her crossbow at Jacob, but both he and Jonathan where moving too fast for her to aim properly.

“Don’t – you might hit Reid if you shoot now and he might attack you then. I’ve seen leeches in a frenzy like this before and he won’t be able to tell ally from enemy right now. Wait until they’ve calmed down, they won’t be able to keep this up for long”, Geoffrey warned her in low voice, his eyes glued on the fight in front of them while he willed his body to heal. Julia nodded silently at that, her eyes following Jacob’s movements warily. Then, finally, the movements of both black-haired ekons began to slow down, Jacob slashing at Jonathan furiously, the force of his strike pushing the doctor back and causing him to fall over a cot behind him. Before Blackwood could use his momentarily advantage, he was hit by two crossbow bolts shot by Geoffrey and Julia at the same time, however, only a short sidestep saving him from getting killed.

“You again! You two are even more resilient than cafards it would seem! Time to end this once and for all!”, the snake-eyed ekon snarled, summoning writhing shadows beneath the two hunters’ feet. While Julia and Geoffrey managed to dodge the shadow explosion with quick shadow-steps, they didn’t anticipate the four shadow-figures emerging from the explosion, respectively two of them attacking each Julia and Geoffrey. While the two hunters were busy with defending themselves, Jacob turned back to Jonathan who had managed to get up but was severely bleeding from several wounds. Only barely dodging the snake-eyed ekon’s attacks, the doctor shadow-jumped away from his opponent, summoning shadows between him and Blackwood to keep him busy while he fished again for the box with his serums.

In the meantime, Julia had managed to get rid of one of the shadow figures with a nicely placed bolt, giving her enough time to try freezing Jacob’s blood when she realised Jonathan’s hardship. The attempt backfired, however, causing her arm to hurt and staggering her enough to cause her being hit by the remaining shadow-figure. Suppressing a curse, the female ekon drew on her shadow veil, hoping it would be able to deceive the remaining figure. And it did indeed, the shadow figure stopping for a moment seemingly confused before heading to Geoffrey, who was just in the process of disposing of his second opponent.

Placing her steps carefully after ensuring that Geoffrey was able to handle the situation (he clearly was, the strikes of his sword still being performed with the fluidity Julia so admired), the female ekon went behind Jacob who was now emerging Jonathan, loading her crossbow as silent as she could and aiming it at the beast’s heart. Blackwood managed to dodge her shot partly, however, hissing in pain as the bolt dug into his chest and turning around furiously to Julia. _His movements seem to have slowed down a bit_ , Julia thought just as Blackwood threw another blood-spear at her. The woman shadow-stepped aside, but it parted just before it had reached her, one of the three new spears hitting her at her shoulder. Crying out in pain, Julia staggered backwards, feeling her shoulder burning from the poisonous blood.

Jacob grinned maliciously at her pain, but before he could move any further, he was hit by a blood spear himself, Geoffrey watching their opponent with cold fury in his eyes as he approached him. Jonathan used the time to cross the room towards Julia with two fast shadow-steps, injecting her with a regenerative serum as soon as he had reached her. He was just done as a loud cry from the hunter made him turn around, showing Jacob having dug his fangs into Geoffrey’s throat who was clawing at his assailant furiously but pointlessly. With an enraged scream, Julia launched herself at the snake-eyed ekon, the force of her jump causing him to lose hold of Geoffrey and to stagger aside. The hunter’s lips escaped a small groan as he slumped down onto the ground, his gaze unfocused and distant.

“Geoffrey!”, Julia cried out worriedly, hurrying to his aid when she saw Jonathan engaging himself into a swordfight with Jacob.

The pain of the beast’s teeth was excruciating, far worse than any bite Geoffrey remembered. He tried to free himself from the leech’s grip with furious movements, but the beast held him steady with strong arms and the hunter felt increasingly light-headed with every gulp Jacob took. Finally, his mouth was ripped away from Geoffrey’s neck, causing the man to sink to the ground since his legs wouldn’t hold his weight anymore. His vision had turned grey, rendering only the crimson glow of the three bodies surrounding him important, remembering Geoffrey very much of his rebirth. He wanted what was inside these bodies, oh he wanted it so very much. He groaned quietly, trying to get his focus back.

_I mustn’t hurt Julia – or Reid_ , he thought desperately, his thirst almost drowning out any conscious thought. He wanted the blood, he wanted it so badly. He could see them move in front of him, three figures filled with blood. Unconsciously licking his lips, Geoffrey raised his arm in a desperate plea. He needed the blood, there was nothing what he needed more right now, and it was right there in front of him. But while the thirst was overwhelming him, he could still sense to whom the blood he craved so much belonged. _No, that’s Julia, I can’t hurt her_ , he thought, this last remnant of consciousness costing him almost unbearable effort. Fighting against his dizziness with every fibre of his being, Geoffrey moved his gaze to the other two figures who seemed to be fighting nearby. He recognised one of them as Reid in a corner of his mind, so he focused on the other one instead. Yes, this one was none of whom he cared for; it was safe to focus on this presence. His senses told him that it was of strong blood and while it had been weakened by the fight, it still glowed with the enticing strength of many, many previous feedings. _I want it… I need to have this blood_ , Geoffrey thought in a haze, focusing on the beating heart of the creature, willing the blood inside to just come to him so he could finally drink, willing it to move inside the body. And so it did, more and more of the creature’s blood pooling in its heart.

If Geoffrey would have been able to think clearly, he would have been surprised by the blood reacting to him at all, but in his haze he just focused harder on the heart of this enticing blood bag, the organ growing inside Blackwood’s chest as the blood pooled in it due to Geoffrey’s call until, finally, the tissue creating the heart’s walls couldn’t take the pressure anymore. Jacob screamed as the heart in his chest erupted, staggering helplessly as the blood-flow in his body came to a halt. Jonathan’s eyebrows went up in surprise as his senses told him what happened to his enemy, but he didn’t take any chances, swinging Dragonbane in a wide arc and finally beheading his opponent. And with that, Jacob Blackwood was no more.

Geoffrey didn’t notice any of this since his attention had been caught by the rim of a bottle filled with blood being pressed to his mouth just after Jacob’s heart had erupted. With a content sigh, he gulped down the delicious liquid flooding his mouth, filling his body with strength and delight with every sip. Finally, the world went back into focus again. The hunter could see Julia kneeling in front of him, the small bottle with her portion of the blood granted by the primate of the brotherhood still in her hand and a worried frown on her face. Behind her stood the doctor, his gaze fixed on something on the ground, the room being eerily quiet.

“Where’s Blackwood?”, Geoffrey rasped while assessing the state of his body, surprised how good he felt again all of a sudden.

“Dead”, Jonathan stated curtly, now turning towards the hunter, a small smile gracing his lips. “And I think we have _you_ to thank for it, Geoffrey”, he added, sheathing his sword.

“Are… are you sure?” Geoffrey enquired, straightening his upper body, but still remaining sitting on the ground.

“Aye. He is, it was unmistakable for anyone with our senses. I don’t know how exactly you did it, but you somehow managed to blow up the beast’s heart and Jonathan beheaded it afterwards. He’s gone”, Julia answered his question, her worried gaze never leaving his face. “But how are you feeling? Are you… thirsty?”, she asked cautiously.

Still dazzled that it was finally over, Geoffrey shook his head. “No, not much at least. This blood you gave me did a hell of a job. It’s… it’s really over then?”, he asked again, still disbelieving.

A wide, relieved grin spread on Julia’s face. “Yes, it is. It’s over, and you’re also alright! All three of us are!”, she said as she took the hunter by his shoulders, tears of joy running down her cheeks. “I thought I’d lose you when that bloody beast was at your throat. I feared I couldn’t stop it in time”, she whispered silently with catching voice, gazing at him with pain in her eyes and resting her forehead against his’.

“So did I – but then Blackwood was probably right with one thing: we’re just like cockroaches, indestructible”, Geoffrey replied with a wry, relieved grin, remembering the word ‘cafard’ being one of the nicknames of his fellow French soldiers during the short time he had to serve in the great war.

Julia grinned at that, before her face turned into a more serious expression again. “Just don’t do this to me again, yes? I… don’t want to lose you”, she said tonelessly.

“I… You know that I can’t promise you that, Julia. But I’ll try. If you do the same”, Geoffrey replied, reaching for her face. Julia smiled sadly at that while he caressed her cheek, her eyes studying him until finally, she brought her face even closer to his’, their lips meeting for a long, sweet kiss. Her action took Geoffrey by surprise, but after a moment, he responded the kiss with exuberant joy, something in his heart clicking into place as he drew her into a deep embrace.

Jonathan listened to the two hunters’ conversation quietly, not wanting to interrupt but stifling a joyful smile as he saw them kissing. _Finally. They deserve to be happy_ , he thought. Which brought him to the subject… “Elisabeth”, he breathed, now that the rush from the fight had dissolved suddenly feeling sick with worry and turning his senses downstairs where he had left his beloved.

“Go. See to her. Julia and I will look after the children in the meantime. Call for our help if you need it”, Geoffrey said as he and Julia broke the kiss, still holding her in his arms.

“Aye, we will handle it. Go and see to your beloved”, Julia added, her eyes only slowly breaking apart from Geoffrey. Jonathan nodded silently, leaving only a puff of black smoke as he went out of the room, heading downstairs.

* * *

It took Julia and Geoffrey a moment before they finally got up, but since they couldn’t hear anything but low voices from below, they reckoned their help wasn’t needed. Finally, the hunter got up, pulling the huntress with him. “We need to look after the children, make sure the bloody beast didn’t infect them and calm them – they must be terrified”, he mumbled into her ear, the woman smiling at his proximity.

Julia nodded quietly, only now realising the destruction they had caused in the room, pieces of furniture being scattered all over it, bloodstains covering some parts of the floor and of course the headless corpse lying amidst of all this chaos. “Indeed”, she agreed, not letting go of the hunter’s hand as they went through the door back into the corridor. They found the door of the room with the children being locked, but it didn’t hold long against Geoffrey’s lockpicking skills, the door opening shortly after he had started working on it, allowing the ekons to step inside.

It was only thanks to Geoffrey’s enhanced senses and reflexes he wasn’t stabbed as soon as he stepped inside. Reflexively, he whirled around, grabbing his attacker by their wrist and pinning them against the wall, his grip making it impossible for them to use the small knife in their hand. “Let me go! You won’t hurt anyone, you monster! I’ll kill you!”, the 13-year-old girl with wild, black hair who was Geoffrey’s assailant, cried out, tears running over her cheeks.

“Hush, girl. We are not here to hurt any of you”, Geoffrey tried to soothe the child with kind voice.

“You’re lying, you’ve moved as fast as that other monster that killed miss Ella did!”, another kid, a small girl with blonde curls, exclaimed.

“Yes, we do. We needed to be as fast as he was, otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to defeat him”, Julia’s voice sounded from the door, the woman stepping inside slowly. “He won’t be able hurt you anymore”, she added softly, crouching down towards the girl.

“Is that true?”, the first girl enquired, the hunter having set her down, even though he had confiscated the knife.

“Aye. We made sure of it”, the hunter replied kindly, looking around the room. It was a bedroom very similar to the one they had fought in, ten children aside from the two who were at the door with him and Julia sitting on six beds with pale, terrified faces, many of them clinging onto each other with traces of tears on their cheeks.

“I’m not sure if I believe you”, the black-haired girl said threateningly, crossing her arms in front of her chest and glaring at Geoffrey defiantly. Despite her demeanour, he could tell that she was terrified by her slight trembling as well as her elevated heart rate.

With the friendliest expression he could muster right now, the hunter brought his face down on the same level as hers, stating kindly “And I understand that, I wouldn’t trust myself, too, if I was in your shoes. But we didn’t hurt you yet, did we? I have a suggestion – why don’t you tell us what exactly happened here, and then we show you the remains of your attacker to proof our trustworthiness – _if_ you want to see that, that is”.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea, Geoffrey? It’s quite gruesome…”, Julia intercepted with a frown on her face.

“I am – they probably will have seen some quite gruesome things already this night and they need a confirmation that this nightmare is over”, the hunter replied, turning his head towards her. The woman nodded hesitantly at that before turning back to the child in front of her.

“The man’s right, Anna, they didn’t hurt us although you attacked them”, the blonde girl stated, Geoffrey only now noticing the slight lisp she had.

“Alright. But you better behave, and I want my knife back!”, the other girl, Anna, said scornfully, glaring daggers at both Geoffrey and Julia. The hunter suppressed a smirk, admiring her courage and handing the small thing over to her.

“Here. But be careful that you don’t hurt yourself with it”, he said.

“As if!”, the girl huffed, stepping carefully backwards until she had reached the frontmost bed, her eyes never leaving the two ekons. Next to her, the blonde child mirrored her movements.

“So, what happened?”, Geoffrey enquired, settling slowly down into a crouch.

“It all started when Miss Margaret came upstairs and closed all of the window-shutters this afternoon”, a girl sitting on the rearmost bed, from her looks being the oldest of the bunch, started, her eyes wide and filled with terror.

“Yes, she said she needed to keep out the sunlight”, another of the children intercepted, most of the girls confirming the statement with grave nods.

“And then those monsters came up from the cellar – I saw them coming out from there ‘cause I was helping Miss Ella in the kitchen with our dinner”, the blonde girl from before resumed with the story, visibly shaking at the memory. “They were so pale, and they had glowing eyes like a cat! Miss Ella asked them right off what they were doing here and how they got in, but they wouldn’t answer. And then… then… the man just suddenly grabbed her! He was _so_ fast, one moment he stood at the trapdoor and in another he was right in front of Miss Ella and he… he…”, she went on, sobbing at the last words.

“You don’t have to go on, I think we can imagine it”, Julia said soothingly with compassionate gaze, exchanging glances with Geoffrey.

The girl shook her head furiously. “He bit her, he’s a vampire, I’m sure of it!”, she exclaimed.

“Are… are you vampires, too? You are so pale, and the man moved so fast when Anna attacked him”, a shy voice, belonging to a maybe eight-year old child sounded from one of the beds.

Shifting uneasily since he knew perfectly well that the truth would frighten them even more but also not wanting to lie, Geoffrey replied after a moment “Yes. We are. But we don’t hurt humans. We hunt other vampires to stop them from doing the things like being done to you instead”.

“But why would you do that?”, Anna, the girl with the wild black hair enquired, having raised her knife again with defiant expression.

“Because we were human once, and while we are monsters _now_ , we don’t want to behave like ones”, Julia explained sadly. “We will not hurt you, nor any other human”, she added softly. A collective shiver went through the girls at that, but much to Geoffrey’s relief they didn’t seem to panic. Maybe they were just too shocked for that.

“I’m not sure if I believe you”, Anna said stubbornly.

The hunter shrugged. “You don’t have to. But please, do you remember what happened after that monster killed Miss Ella?”, he enquired.

The oldest girl nodded. “Miss Margaret went downstairs – Edna told us she was acting strangely; she didn’t seem to even notice that Miss Ella was dead! She told the few of us who weren’t up here already to go into this room. She accompanied them and the two strangers went also with them. And then, when we were all inside here, the female… vampire asked the other one if… if she could have a snack”, she explained, her voice shaking. “He said yes, and then… she killed Miss Margaret, right in front of this door, and then she threw her body aside as if it was just a pillow!”, she went on, tears running over her cheeks. The other girls nodded affirmatively, more than one of them crying quietly.

“The male vampire said he would do the same with us if we tried to flee and that we should stay here until the rest of the family arrived. Then he locked us in – we tried to get out, but the door wouldn’t budge and then suddenly all that noise started…”, Anna finished the story.

“That noise was us when we fought the beast. But tell me – did any of the vampires bite or scratch anyone of you? Or did they offer you anything to eat or drink?”, the hunter enquired, fearing the answer. The girls looked around, each one of them slowly shaking her head.

“No… the man only hurt Alice’s arm when she tried to get the woman from Miss Margaret, but I don’t think he scratched her or anything”, the blonde girl, Edna, said with high voice.

“May I have a look at it?”, Geoffrey asked carefully. Alice, the oldest girl, nodded, stepping slowly towards him and showing him her bare arm when she was close enough. The wrist was red and slightly swollen, but Geoffrey couldn’t make out any open wounds indeed. “May I? It might hurt a bit, but I want to see if it’s broken”, the hunter enquired, his hands moving towards the girl’s wrist. The child was visibly afraid, but she nodded, nevertheless, biting her lower lip as the ekon’s cool hands touched her skin. “Hm. I don’t think the beast broke something, but I’d still rather have Reid looking at it”, the hunter mumbled, before glancing up into the girl’s terrified face.

“Thank you – you have been very brave. All of you were”, he said kindly, slowly getting up so he would not scare them with a sudden movement. “As promised, you can see the remains of the attacker now, if you want. I won’t force you, though, it is quite a gruesome sight and there’s a lot of blood. It’s not cowardly to stay behind. I also won’t let you near to any of the blood – it is infectious, and I don’t want you to become monsters, too”, Geoffrey said, studying the girls with an assessing gaze.

“I want to see it”, Alice said, the black-haired child next to her also nodding.

“I’ll go, too”, Edna stated.

“No, Edna, I’ll look at it for you”, Anna objected, moving towards Edna and sneakily handing over her knife. “I want you to guard the others in case it’s a trick – here, take my knife”, she whispered into her ear, eyeing the two ekons with suspicion. Edna nodded her confirmation with wide eyes, hiding the blade behind her back.

“Anyone else?”, Geoffrey enquired, pretending that he hadn’t heard Anna’s whispering and nodding as all the remaining children shook her head. “Julia, would you wait together with them until we are done?”, the ekon enquired, earning a curt nod from the woman before he turned around towards the door. “Follow me, then”, he said, glancing over his shoulder before stepping into the corridor.

It took a while before they returned, Julia watching the remaining children carefully while listening to the small noises from the other room. Most of the girls were sobbing silently and the woman wished she could do anything to comfort them, but she anticipated any of her actions would just frighten them even more. She could hear the girls gasping in the other room, Geoffrey’s soothing voice sounding afterwards, a short conversation following. Finally, the hunter returned with the two girls in tow, both children looking pale and sickly.

“The man said the truth – the male monster is dead. It won’t come back. He said his companions downstairs did the same to the woman”, the older one of them said, her voice sounding aloof and at the verge of breaking into a sob. The other girls just stared at them wide-eyed, hushed conversations and new tears braking out as soon as their two comrades had reached the middle of the room.

“Jonathan and the lady need quite some time – do you think I’d better see after them?”, Julia enquired silently while the children discussed agitatedly, glancing at Geoffrey. The male ekon nodded.

“Do that – I’ll watch over the children in the meantime, do my best to comfort them”. He smiled sadly. “Even though being a fecking leech makes this much more difficult”, he added. Julia nodded at that, before heading through the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this the right moment to tell you that I hadn't decided about Charlotte's final fate until writing out the next chapter? I guess it is >:). See you all in the next chapter, there'll be a double update like usually at the weekend.


	37. Charlotte

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, let's see what happens to Charlotte.

Despite the words Jacob directed at her when she and the other three ekons stepped into the orphanage, Elisabeth couldn’t tear her eyes from the smaller figure behind him. She couldn’t help but assess the young woman, noticing her elegant but all too still posture, the too slow beating heart, the pale, sickly parlour and last but not least the bloodshot eyes with the slit pupils. She was strong and elegant for sure, but so void of the life Elisabeth had always loved in her so much. _Oh, Charlotte, oh my sweet little Charlotte. What has he done to you – what have I done to you?_, the red-haired ekon thought, feeling her heart breaking. Closing her eyes for just but a moment, she collected herself before replying to Jacob’s greeting.

“Jacob. Long time, no see. I thought you to be dead”, she said icily. For all what had ever been between them, she would never forgive him for what he had done to her sweet little daughter. But despite everything, she still pleaded to him in the short conversation that entailed, still remembering the kind young man he had been before her poisonous bite had ruined everything. She had at least to try. It was to no avail.

 _I should have known better – he never listened all the times before, so why should he do so now?_ , she pondered, bracing herself for what she knew would be coming. And right, just as anticipated, Jacob ordered Charlotte to attack them, withdrawing himself from the scene. And just like Jacob had probably anticipated, Elisabeth stopped her daughter by taking control over her blood, urging the others to go on without her. She could see Jonathan hesitating, but she had warned him that this could happen before and that he would need to leave her then. Jacob would only use Jonathan’s protectiveness about her if she joined their fight right now and there was also no way she would let anyone else deal with her sweet little daughter but herself. And so, Jonathan left, following her orders, but not before sneakily passing a small flask containing the antidote to her, uttering “You know what to do with this”, into her ear before he followed the hunter towards the door.

And Elisabeth knew what to do with it, indeed. But for that she would need to get Charlotte drinking it, and right now she was all too busy with keeping her from moving – Jacob had taught her well and while the lady’s experience still was sufficient to win over Charlotte’s resistance, her daughter fought back fiercely, not allowing Elisabeth to move if she didn’t want her control breaking, and she didn’t dare to break it before her allies had caught up with Jacob. She hated playing into her former husband’s hands like that, but she saw no other way. She had known he would try something like this from the beginning – he would want to separate her from the others so she wouldn’t be able to help them while being in no real risk of getting harmed. In all the decades she had been hunting him, Jacob had constantly tried to win her back instead of killing her – he knew only too well that Charlotte would never be a match to Elisabeth regardless how much the young ekon had fed the last few days, but she would keep Elisabeth busy until he was done with his other opponents. Or so, he probably hoped. Finally, Lady Ashbury felt her progeny reappearing upstairs as his shadow-veil dropped, the huntress engaging into a fight with him and the two other ekons following shortly after. Without any warning, Elisabeth dropped her control over Charlotte, moving between her daughter and the door within the blink of an eye.

“So, you really stayed behind, just like father had anticipated – tells quite something how much you really care about the man you call your _beloved_ , doesn’t it?”, Charlotte smirked, walking casually towards her mother, stopping in front of her but not close enough for Elisabeth to reach out to her.

The lady shook her head, studying her daughter with sadness. “Oh sweetheart. What has he done to you?”, she said, the grief almost swallowing her.

The younger ekon scoffed at that. “What he has done? He did the very thing _you_ were always too _craven_ to do, _mother_. Or should I rather say too _egoistic_!? Father has told me everything, every nasty little secret _you_ kept from me! The true reason you never turned me, the true reason you never turned anyone besides him – you didn’t want to _share_ , isn’t that the truth, _mother_? You wanted to keep all the precious blood of those petty mortals to _yourself_ , while _feigning_ the benevolent benefactor to humanity!”, Charlotte spat furiously.

Elisabeth’s shoulders sagged at that, guilt swallowing her as the reasoning she had once come up with in her madness was spat back at her. Shaking her head, she stepped closer to her daughter, reaching out for her. “Charlotte, dear, what Jacob said is not true, not anymore. It hasn’t been for over a century. He is terribly sick, as are you! But I can –“, she started, being interrupted by the younger ekon.

“I don’t believe you! Do you think me dim-witted? Father told me about the _slaughter_ you caused in the Mansion d’honneur, he told me how I was just a pathetic attempt of redemption to soothe the pitiful _guilt_ swallowing you! You could not bear with the glory we have become, _mother_ , and instead of _embracing_ your power and feeding on those petty mortals like it is our right to do _you_ decided to play foolish pretences, fooling even _me_ with them. Encouraging me to follow into your footsteps to gain immortality to achieve petty goals instead of showing me what vampires _really_ are!”, Charlotte exclaimed, retreating from Elisabeth with two fast shadow-steps.

“Charlotte, please, listen – “, the lady tried it again, but to no avail.

“No mother, _you_ listen now. You have been running long enough and I will make sure you will join father and me soon again – we will be ruling over this sorry country as a family even though _you_ tried to deny me from that right, from being immortal and from my father. But first, I will see you regretting”, the young ekon cried out with tears of hate and grieve running over her cheeks as she raised the very gun Elisabeth had once given to her. Her shot did not even graze the lady, however, since Elisabeth dodged even before Charlotte had pulled the trigger.

 _I should have known that I would not be able to get through to her with my words – father also never really did, despite his power over me as my maker_, she thought sorrowfully. _This leaves me no other choice, then_. She and Jonathan had been discussing their possibilities regarding Charlotte repeatedly and they had come up with several courses of action. Most of them would need Jonathan’s help, however, and he was all too busy with fighting Jacob right now. Elisabeth could only pray to god that he would be able to win, only the facts that he had already won against the disaster and that the two hunters were helping him reassuring her ever so slightly.

Regardless, his temporary absence left her with only one course of action promising the highest probable success. It was risky for both Charlotte and herself, but Elisabeth was willing to take that risk if that meant her daughter would at least have a chance to survive, even if not as human, that possibility already having been taken from her. Placing her steps carefully, Elisabeth moved around Charlotte in a half circle, the younger ekon’s eyes following her warily. While the lady was almost certain that she’d be able to deal with Charlotte within moments, Elisabeth’s exceeding experience being too much of an advantage despite her meagre feeding for decades, she knew that she couldn’t allow herself to do so. Her goal could not be to win against Charlotte since that would mean her daughter’s death, but to wear her out until she could be made compliant.

“What is it, mother, too afraid to attack me? Or are you just too weak after famishing yourself into ridiculousness to feign humanity? You’re making me sick. No, really”, Charlotte taunted her, gagging poisonous blood directed at Elisabeth afterwards.

While the lady managed to avoid it first, she hadn’t anticipated it suddenly moving towards her as if it had a will of its own, forming a bubble around her that collapsed onto her shortly after. Wincing in pain as she was covered in the poisonous blood, she willed her body to heal. She would be able to do so for several more times since she had followed Jonathan’s advice and fed herself with several rats despite the most vile taste, but she would need to safe her strength. Therefore, she just kept circling her daughter for now, not attacking. _I need to know what her abilities are. I do not want to face any unpleasant surprises that could force me to kill her if I can avoid it._

“Still hesitant? Come on, fight me!”, Charlotte cried out, the last of her words morphing into a deafening scream. Despite the situation, Elisabeth could not help but stifle a smile. While this kind of scream would lead a younger ekon or one of a weak bloodline to stumble, maybe even to being dazed for a moment, it did no such thing for her since all of its force relied on mesmerism, the one vampiric ability not dependent on how much blood an immortal consumed but on experience. Charlotte had not even finished her scream as Elisabeth was already onto her, causing two deep, bleeding slices with her dagger before withdrawing. It almost felt like Elisabeth had cut up herself. But it was necessary, she needed Charlotte to be weakened if her plan should have any chance of success without causing long-term damage. Elisabeth could see her daughter’s eyes widen at the sudden attack, but she caught herself soon, her wounds healing as fast as one would expect from a well-fed immortal.

“Is that all, mother? You will have to do much better than this”, the young woman jeered, again cocking the gun against her mother. Elisabeth didn’t bother with a reply, completely focusing on her own fast movements, alternating attacks and withdrawals in a manner that had needed centuries to perfect. The ensuing fight seemed to take an eternity, Elisabeth evading most of Charlotte’s attacks even though her daughter managed to surprise her with a solid shield of shadows that splintered in a painful way as it finally shattered. The younger ekon tired visibly after the first few minutes, however, until, finally, Elisabeth felt her time to have come. With a sudden movement, the lady shadow-jumped towards her daughter, catching her off-guard and pinning her against the wall next to the door leading deeper into the orphanage. Placing her hand on Charlotte’s face in a manner Elisabeth knew only too well from oh so many shameful feedings, she whispered with an entrancing voice into her daughter’s ear.

“ **Listen to me, Charlotte. You are terribly, terribly sick. But I have a cure – you just need to drink it, and everything will fall into place** ”. She could feel Charlotte’s mind struggling against the command, but she managed to slip around her barriers – the trick was not to fight since this would shatter the target’s mind, but to evade the defence, Charlotte’s weary state making things much easier. And finally, Charlotte gave in, taking the flask her mother gave her seemingly willingly and gulping its liquid down. Elisabeth could see her whole body tense as a reaction to the antidote, grimacing with sympathy since she remembered the pain from her own cure only too well, as a sudden, pained scream sounded from above.

 ** _ELISABETH!_** The mental cry of her progeny rang painfully through Elisabeth’s mind – she had kept the connection between her and Jacob open since she had learned he was alive, but it had stayed completely silent until now. Realising that her former husband must have finally lowered his barriers, even had called out to her, the lady reached for his mind, for his thoughts. **_His heart was erupting in his chest with a searing stab, the blood-flow in his body coming to a halt as the organ was destroyed._**

 _He is dying_ , she realised. _Jacob._ , she replied, feeling that she owed him this, at least.

 ** _Elisabeth, my beloved. Why? Why did you run? Why do you want me dead?_** , Jacob enquired, a flood of emotions and memories swimming over to his maker. Caught off-guard, Elisabeth stumbled at their intensity, gasping at the memory of this wonderful, wonderful song she knew only too well, gasping at his hatred for this world and crying silently at the bond he still felt to her. Crying at his desperate attempts to win her back, the last few weeks only being the culmination.

 _I never wanted you dead, Jacob. But there was no cure for what I had done to you and I saw no other way to stop you from harming innocents._ , Elisabeth thought. Just as she felt her words register and before Jacob could even form an answering thought, a short, searing pain went through her progeny’s neck, the link between them severed into nothingness afterwards. _Gone. He’s gone._ Elisabeth could not tell if that made her feel relieved or terribly sad, but she had no time to ponder on it since she suddenly felt a hand curling around her throat, whirling her around and slamming her against the wall.

“So, you really thought you could just kill father, _subdue_ me and this is over!? Oh no, _mother_ , believe me, I will make you pay for what you just tried to do!”, Charlotte, who was holding her relentlessly with hatred in her eyes, exclaimed.

 _No! It didn’t work. No. No, no, no_ , Elisabeth thought with horror. “Charlotte… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry. You should never have become like this, I only ever wanted you to stay your vibrant self. I’m sorry”, Elisabeth whispered with the little air the tight grip on her throat was allowing. Crimson tears running over her cheeks, the lady closed her eyes, all will to fight having left her.

* * *

Jonathan went downstairs to where he could feel both Charlotte and Elisabeth as fast as he could, his blood sense having him told about Elisabeth’s predicament as soon as he had turned his attention towards her. Much to his relief, his beloved was still relatively well and alive when he finally burst into the room, even though Charlotte was holding her at her throat, screaming into her face, the words being completely unintelligible since her voice was cracking. Without hesitation, the doctor shadow-jumped towards the two women, grabbing the unaware Charlotte and pinning her onto the ground. He knew that his grip must hurt the young woman, but it was clearly necessary.

“The antidote – Elisabeth, have you given her the antidote?”, he enquired, struggling to keep the young ekon on the ground – the fight had exhausted him and even though he had managed to regain some of his strength thanks to his serums, he was still weaker than he liked to be and Charlotte had clearly indulged herself in blood over the past few days.

For a moment, Elisabeth just gazed at him, a terribly distant look in her eyes, before she finally nodded. “Yes, I have. It didn’t work”, she answered his question, her voice sounding as if it came out of a grave. The implications hit Jonathan like a hammer – if they weren’t able to cure her, this would be a death sentence for the young woman.

Not even realising that Charlotte had gotten finally still beneath him, he said in low voice “Maybe if we try an injection – I know you applied it orally back then, but your antidote had other ingredients than mine. We should at least try it”.

His beloved just stared blankly at him, before finally pulling herself out of her thoughts to reply. “I doubt it Jonathan, and if it doesn’t work… It’s a death sentence. She will die because of me, because of my foolishness. If not for me, Jacob would never had been turned and if I had not let myself getting fooled, he would not have gotten away later”.

Just as the doctor opened his mouth for a reply, Charlotte’s muffled voice sounded from beneath him. “Mother? What… what have you given me? My head – it has gotten so quiet”, the young woman enquired. Surprised, Jonathan loosened his grip on her somewhat, just to tighten it again when Elisabeth shot him a warning glance.

“Has it, really?”, the lady enquired, studying Charlotte warily. Remembering William Marshal’s endeavours to trick them back in the Ashbury castle, Jonathan listened intently to Charlotte’s reply, searching for a lie.

“Yes, it… first this… song, this terrible song got even louder when I drank it and then I heard how father… I heard him die, mother. I have never heard his thoughts so clearly, even if he actively tried to contact me it was somewhat fuzzy, but this time…” The doctor could feel her shaking her head. “And then… then he went suddenly quiet, leaving only this terrible song that urged me to attack and I couldn’t help but follow it, I… I wondered how you could withstand its call and I _hated_ you for not telling me, not warning me about it but now – why is it quiet, mother?”, the young woman asked, her voice shaking with silent tears.

“Do you think… it worked?”, Jonathan enquired, looking up into his beloved’s face.

“It… it might have, Jonathan! But we should be careful, she could be trying to trick us – I certainly know father tried to do it many times”, the lady replied, an expression of relief fighting with a mistrusting frown on her face. “Do you think you could let her sit up while still keeping your hold on her?”, she asked. After considering a moment, Jonathan nodded, carefully adjusting his grip to allow Charlotte sitting up, latter one not fighting him in the slightest, turning her tear-stained face towards her mother.

“Oh, Charlotte, sweetheart… if it truly worked… There is so much I have to tell you, so much I should have already told you before”, Elisabeth breathed, swiping the tears from her daughter’s face. Charlotte just stared at her silently, shivering slightly in Jonathan’s arms while Elisabeth started to tell her story, telling her daughter from William Marshal and how he got infected, telling her about Jacob and then, about the epidemic, Jonathan adding some explanations on the latter topic.

“So… it is some kind of disease? And I… I am now a ‘healthy carrier’, too? I might still infect other persons?”, Charlotte enquired when they were finally done.

Behind her, the doctor nodded. “I am afraid so, Charlotte, even though I would have to test your blood to be entirely sure”.

Inhaling deeply, the younger ekon nodded. “I… understand, I think. It is a lot to comprehend and… I still feel like a monster. A terrible monster. But what about… what about the children? Please… please tell me you were able to save them! And the hunters, did Jacob hurt them?”, she enquired.

“I’m flattered about your concern, but both Geoffrey and I are fine, thanks. The kids are also ‘s good as can be expected under the circumstances. They’re frightened ‘s hell, but unhurt save for one of them – you might wanna have a look at her, Jonathan, she’s got a hurt wrist”, Julia’s voice suddenly sounded from behind the doctor, causing both him and Charlotte to tense in surprise.

“This is… good to hear. I… I know I can never rectify what I have done these past few days, but it relieves me to hear they are well”, Charlotte replied politely, staring towards the ground.

Jonathan could see Julia, who had moved into his line of view by now, nod curtly, before enquiring “I assume this means the antidote has worked?”.

“We think it might, but we are not entirely sure – she attacked me first after I had given it to her”, the lady replied.

“Huh – took some time ‘til it worked on Andrew, too. However, Geoffrey told the kids that we ended her like we did with Blackwood, so we should make sure they don’t see her. We _don’t_ want to frighten them even more than they already are and I don’t think they’d really get the explanation with the tainted blood. And there’s also another problem – they’ve killed at least two of the children’s minders…”, the huntress stated, her voice trailing off at the end.

Elisabeth frowned at that, her gaze turning towards Charlotte. “Whom did you kill?”, she enquired curtly.

“I… I killed the woman Jacob had used to get inside the orphanage, her name was Margaret White. I… god, I _killed_ this poor innocent woman and so many others!”, Charlotte answered, sobbing, the terrible reality only now really catching up with her.

“Julia mentioned two victims?”, the lady enquired carefully, knowing it was necessary while feeling pained about her daughter’s distress.

“Y… yes – J… Jacob killed another woman when we came out from the c…cellar where we had hidden during the day… I think one of the girls called her ‘Miss Ella’… we di… didn’t kill anyone else here, though. Jacob… s… said h… he wanted to w… wait for you with dinner”, the young ekon blubbered out.

Julia could see Lady Ashbury nodding thoughtfully. “I see. Jonathan, do you think you will be able to deal with Charlotte while the huntress here and I go upstairs? I need a word with the hunter”, she finally stated, turning towards her beloved.

“Of course, my dear”, Jonathan replied, having loosened his grip on Charlotte so she could sit more comfortably, but still holding her tight enough to make it hard for her to get away.

“Thank you, dearest”, the lady answered with a small smile on her lips, before she made her way to the door, Julia rushing to follow her. She had been surprised by the lady’s implication to follow her, at first, but she reckoned Lady Ashbury was worried about Geoffrey turning hostile towards her now the threat of Jacob was gone and therefore wanted Julia as a go-between if needed.

* * *

They found Geoffrey sitting on the floor in the children’s room, the latter ones, much to Julia’s surprise, having calmed down while listening to a story Geoffrey was telling. From the little Julia caught before she and the lady stepped into the room, interrupting the hunter’s word-flow, it seemed to be about a rather embarrassing training-session he had once endured as a boy. _Who’d have thought he’s got a hand for children – but then I guess he’s got quite some experience on how a traumatised child feels…_ An affectionate smile playing on her lips, she nodded towards Geoffrey and said, “Lady Ashbury wanted to have a chat with you”. That obviously caught the hunter by surprise, his brows going up as he glanced towards the lady. Behind him, several hushed conversations broke out, the girls looking at Lady Ashbury in awe. _Why would they… of course! This must be the orphanage the lady founded!_ , Julia suddenly realised, remembering her conversation with Charlotte all this weeks ago.

“I would prefer to talk with you in private, hunter, and I sincerely hope we can keep our interactions between each other amicable while we’re in this building”, Lady Ashbury stated, watching the male ekon calculatingly.

Geoffrey scoffed at that, getting up. “As if I’d risk the well-being of the children. But fine, you can have your private conversation, _milady_ ”. He glanced at Julia, his expression growing soft. “Julia, could you please have an eye on the girls in the meantime? I don’t want them to be alone right now”, he said quietly. Julia only nodded, before sitting down on the ground in his place, straining her ears to listen in to the low conversation that entailed after the two other ekons had left the room while her eyes were focused on the children, who were watching her with a mixture of fear and curiosity.

“So, what is it you want, leech? I assume you dealt with that daughter of yours?”, Geoffrey’s gruff voice sounded from a room nearby, much too low for the children to even hear it, but loud enough for Julia to follow the conversation.

“Charlotte does not pose a larger threat anymore than I do, hunter. But this is not the reason I wanted to talk with you”, came the soft reply from the lady.

“Really? I’m intrigued. Let’s hear it, then, but know that I have not forgotten the threat you and now also your daughter pose”, the hunter stated harshly. Julia thought she heard the lady sigh at that, but she was not quite sure.

“I know, and I promise you I will do everything in my power to prevent the creation of any progeny. But as I said, this is not what I wanted to discuss. Ms Leigh informed me that two of the children’s minders were killed and while this orphanage still has other employees who can take care of them, I am afraid it will not be enough, given the traumatising events these poor girls went through. And since I would prefer word not going out about a _vampire_ attack considering my affliction, I wondered if Priwen could have an eye on them for a while until a more… appropriate solution is in place. As reluctant as I am to leave these children in the care of your savages, I have the feeling they might be comforted by the protection of professional vampire hunters”.

Julia could hear a muffled sound that sounded very much like Geoffrey growling and she couldn’t help but smirk at the thought of his furious face after the lady’s derogatory comment. “Believe it or not, but these _savages_ as you call them would _never_ just leave a child on its own after an attack like that, I am a proof for that!”, the hunter spat furiously.

“Yes, and this is exactly what I’m anticipating – I’ve seen the _care_ this organisation took on you, hunter, and I will _not_ have any of these girls to be raised to fight a constant war like you were”, Lady Ashbury replied icily. Julia’s breath stocked for a moment as a dreadful silence entailed, which was finally broken by a dangerously low reply from Geoffrey.

“You should mind your tone, _leech._ If not for the children and my respect towards Reid, as much as I loathe to admit the latter part, I’d have your head right now, relieving this world from the threat your blood still poses. But it would seem you’re lucky regarding your demand – Priwen does not take any recruits below the legal age for armed service anymore, I made sure of that when I became her leader and I doubt Thomas will handle it any other way. I do not know if the care we can provide for them meets your expectations, however – we have problems with the Yard already, and I doubt that the orphanage’s administration will be thrilled about our presence here, so we will have to leave as soon as somebody official arrives. Thomas will have them supervised until this happens for sure, however, and he’ll probably keep an eye on them later on if possible”.

“I am relieved to hear this. And you might be relieved to hear that your organisation will not face any trouble with the Scotland Yard regarding this institution, since I am the founder and main benefactor – hiring Priwen as a guard due to the recent attack until everything has settled down is but a formality. But I _expect_ Priwen to remove their influence as soon as the situation here has normalised again”, Lady Ashbury’s reply sounded. Julia couldn’t hear any reply from Geoffrey, but she assumed he must have nodded, since the lady’s voice sounded again shortly after, stating “Good. I might even be able to take care of at least some of your problems with the officials – Jonathan told me of them. Take it as compensation and appreciation for your help”.

“Priwen doesn’t need your help, leech, but I assume I’d be stupid to refuse”, the hunter replied gruffly. They started to discuss intricacies about their deal, but Julia’s attention was turned away from the conversation when she felt someone lightly tugging at her coat.

“Madam… do you know… we have wondered what will happen to us now? Mr McCullum said that there would be vampire hunters coming here and that they would look after us for a while, but since Lady Ashbury is here…”, Edna, the small girl with the blonde locks enquired while staring at the female ekon with wide eyes, Julia only now realising that the girl had walked over towards her while she had been distracted by the conversation.

The huntress cleared her throat. “Actually, that’s exactly what the Lady and Geoffrey – Mr McCullum – are discussing right now. Lady Ashbury just allowed the guard of Priwen – the vampire hunters – to look after you until new minders have been appointed for you”, she replied, smiling kindly at the girl.

“How would you know? Did she tell you?”, Anna, Geoffrey’s attacker, asked.

“No, but we leeches have rather good ears and I… eavesdropped”, Julia admitted with a slightly guilty grin.

That got the girls whispering again, before another one, a maybe 9-year-old redhead, asked “Are you with these vampire hunters, too, madam? Mr McCullum said he was raised by them!”.

“Please, call me Julia, I’m still not _that_ old, I hope. And I… I guess I am with the guard, even though I don’t share Geoffrey’s background. It’s a… relatively new arrangement, though, and still somewhat uneasy”, Julia replied.

“Did you kill many vampires? How do you fight them? Did you bite them? But you don’t have any fangs!”, another girl enquired excitingly.

“Uhm… my fangs are retractable. And yeah, I guess I’ve killed a lot of vampires – not all with my fangs, though, I usually use my crossbow”, the ekon explained, feeling increasingly uneasy about all the attention.

“You have a crossbow!? Can I see it?”, Anna asked, her mistrust seemingly forgotten.

“I guess…”, Julia replied, feeling a little bit out of her depth while she unclasped the crossbow that had been hidden by her coat until now and showed it to the children. Soon, she was surrounded by them, several of them wanting to touch the weapon and asking Julia to shoot it at something. To the woman’s immense relief, Geoffrey came in just as she tried to figure out how to reply to the children’s demands, the male ekon halting in the door as he saw her predicament.

“Making new friends, I see?”, he enquired, smirking.

“They wanted to see my crossbow. And that I shoot with it at something”, Julia explained, mouthing ‘Help me’ afterwards. The hunters smirk broadened at that, but before Julia could really start worrying that he might just stay in the door and keep on watching, he began to walk into the room.

“Oh, I can absolutely see why they would want to see that, you’re a magnificent shot. But I think we caused enough damage in this building already. Also, Dr Reid will come up here in a few moments to have a look at Alice’s wrist, and we don’t want him to lecture us about the dangers of shooting a weapon in a room filled with children, do we?”, Geoffrey stated, still grinning. There were a few grumbles and complaints, but finally, the girls stepped away from Julia, allowing the ekon to clasp the weapon again just before Jonathan came into the room.

It took the doctor not long to assess the damage done to the girl’s joint, confirming Geoffrey’s assessment from earlier that it was not broken and should heal nicely if she took it easy. He immobilised it, nevertheless, stating that she should see another doctor in a few days to see that there were no complications. “I’m afraid Elisabeth and I will have to leave, now – with Jacob’s death our temporary truce with Priwen has also ended and I do not wish to fight them if I don’t need to. Also, we must take care of Elisabeth’s daughter”, Jonathan whispered towards the hunters as he was done, his voice too low for the children to understand his words.

“I doubt they’d attack you right now, Reid, but you’re right – better not take any risks. Julia and I will see after the children ‘til Priwen arrives, and we’ll inform you how they want to proceed with you and your lady leech”, Geoffrey agreed in equally low voice.

“Thank you”, the doctor breathed, vanishing through the door afterwards.

“They should be here soon”, Geoffrey mumbled as Julia and he felt the other three ekons leave.

Julia nodded silently at that as a thought crossed her mind. “Oh, shit – Nimrod”, she breathed.

“What’s with him?”, the hunter enquired, frowning as he turned towards her.

“He… well, we communicated during the fight and he wanted to come here to aid us. But if he arrives when Priwen’s also here – it might end badly”, Julia replied. “I’d probably better tell him his help is no longer needed here”, she added. _Even though it might be an opportunity to finally talk to him face-to-face. But then he’d probably just leg it as soon as he arrives, anyway_ , she thought.

Geoffrey’s frown deepened. “I thought you can’t contact him on your own account”, he stated.

“I think I’ve found a way during the fight – I’ll tell you later about it”, the woman retorted. “But I guess now I’d better leave for a moment – don’t want the kids to think I’ve gone bonkers in case I speak loudly to thin air”, she went on, glancing at the children who were currently talking among themselves.

“Hm. Could you… just come closer for a moment before you go?”, the hunter enquired, an unreadable expression on his face. Blinking in surprise, Julia stepped towards him. “Closer”, Geoffrey said with a smirk. The female ekon went even closer, standing now right in front of him. “That’s good”, he whispered into her ear, before taking her chin and placing a short kiss on her lips. “Now you can go and talk to that little wanker”, he smirked as he retreated, his eyes studying her face, leaving Julia blushing and with wild beating, undead heart, several ‘ugh’ and ‘yikes’ sounding from the children as she went through the door, feeling somewhat light-headed.

A wide grin plastered on her face and her heart still beating a little bit faster than it normally would, Julia closed her eyes, focusing on what she had done when calling her maker during the fight. _Nimrod?_ , she asked, trying to put force behind it like last time. No answer. _Nimrod!? NIMROD!_ , Julia repeated, putting more and more force behind it.

 ** _Childe? I’m almost there._** , her maker’s voice sounded in the woman’s head.

_No need. Jacob Blackwood is dead, we killed him. The children are well, even though their minders aren’t. I’d very much like to see you in person to give you a kick in the arse for turning me, but since Priwen will be arriving soon I suppose that’ll have to wait. I don’t want them to interfere with my well-deserved revenge._

**_Oh? I would rather like to see that, you kicking my arse, I mean. But I am relieved to hear about Jacob’s end. What about his progeny, Lady Blackwood’s adopted child?_** , her maker enquired.

 _Cured with Jonathan’s antidote. She’s still infectious, though – Jonathan and his beloved are taking care of her right now_ , Julia retorted, frowning at the prospect. She did not like the thought of killing Charlotte and Elisabeth only because of the possible threat their blood posed, but the lingering risk if she didn’t… _Jonathan better hurried up with developing a proper cure_ , she thought to herself.

 ** _I see. Maybe I’ll pay them a short visit – not to kill them, don’t you worry, Childe, but I would like to remind the two blood drinkers what happens if they stray from their path. Yes, I think I will do that. Tell your new allies they will want to have a look at this address, however_** , he stated, showing Julia a house not far from the West End. **_It was the den of our dragon and most of the remaining infected Ascalon members had been waiting there for Pawl and me when we came to cleanse it. Priwen might wish to burn the corpses – normally we would have already done so, but since we had to hurry to come for your aid… Oh, and make sure you mention your new alliance to the primate next time you see him. The man needs a good laugh after everything that had transpired and if I consider due to which events Priwen formed… he’ll certainly have one._**

 _I’ll tell him, but who the heck is Pawl? You’ve mentioned him already twice_ , Julia enquired. She could feel him hesitate, his thoughts feeling surprised as he replied.

 ** _It would seem this new brother mine is more discreet than Pawl or me would have him given credit for. But since you don’t know yet, I will not be the one telling you since this is not my secret to share. You’ll surely find out eventually._** And with that, he withdrew. Grumbling under her breath, Julia went back to Geoffrey, finding him sitting on the floor again, surrounded by children.

* * *

It did indeed not take long until Priwen arrived, Geoffrey going outside to greet them as soon as they felt them approaching. Julia could see Esther’s acknowledging look as she examined Jacob’s corpse, as well as the relief when she saw the children to be well-off, this relief even intensifying as the male ekon told her about Elisabeth’s decision. She did frown with disapproval when hearing about Charlotte’s fate, however, but she didn’t comment on it. The house was soon bustling with Priwen guards and after Julia and Geoffrey had helped to burn Jacob’s corpse and to remove any remaining blood to avoid any human getting contact with it, they were escorted back to their safehouse by some of the guards.

“I still can’t believe it is over”, Julia stated as soon as they were alone, shrugging out of her coat and frowning deeply as she assessed its torn and bloodied state. _Repairing this will take ages_ , she thought with a small sigh.

“Well, I guess we’ll still have to clean out the sewers completely and there might be still a few of those Ascalon bastards around. But yes, it is pretty much over”, Geoffrey replied, already having removed his coat and now sitting down on the small sofa, stretching his long legs.

“Do you think… do you think they’ll keep us? Priwen I mean”, Julia enquired, settling down next to him, ignoring the torn and dirty state of her blouse and trousers for now.

“Hm? I don’t know… but I think chances are good – and if not, I think Thomas will have at least the courtesy to give us a head start before starting to hunt us down”, the hunter stated, turning towards her. “Priwen is not what I wanted to talk about with you right now, however”, he went on, his cheeks blushing slightly. “When you kissed me after the fight… did you… were you doing it in earnest? I would not blame you if the whole situation had made you doing things you’re now… regretting. I… I just want to know if it is so”, he said, stumbling a little bit over the last few words.

Julia’s heart clenched at that, her eyes studying his face with sudden panic. Had she misinterpreted things? She had been fearing his reaction as she kissed him first, only daring to do so in the rush of feelings she had after the fight. She had thought he was fine with it when he kissed her back, even more so when he kissed her the second time, but had she been mistaken? “I… no, I don’t regret it, and I was earnest. But if you regret…”, she started, only too aware of how complicated their living situation could become if he wanted her out. Not to mention the fact that the very thought of leaving him broke her heart.

“No. I don’t”, Geoffrey interrupted her, a smile spreading over his face and his hand reaching for her cheek, Julia leaning into the touch. “You should be aware, however, that we will probably be forced to work together even if this doesn’t work out on the long-term”, he whispered with rough voice, caressing her cheek.

“I… I know. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t… I mean, we had to share the hideout and everything – I just didn’t want things to get totally awkward and the thought of losing you if you weren’t feeling the same… But I don’t think I really care about the risks anymore”, Julia responded, shivering slightly under his touch.

“Good. Me neither. I’d suggest we see that we just don’t let it come to things getting _awkward_ , then”, the hunter replied with a small smirk.

“Brilliant, Geoffrey”, Julia scoffed, but was silenced by a kiss placed on her lips, Geoffrey’s touch busying her mind too much for any bickering shortly after, the torn state of their clothes suddenly proving much less of a nuisance but quite an advantage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who might be interested: I had considered an alternative ending for Charlotte where the antidote wouldn't work and Elisabeth is forced to put her dagger through her daughter's heart. Was even thinking about writing both versions out to see which one I like more but in the end, I was already happy how it turned out when I wrote this version, so I decided to stick to it. 
> 
> As Geoffrey said, it's pretty much over - only one chapter + the epilogue. I almost can't believe we're already this far.


	38. Nimrod

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had been looking forward to write this chapter here even before I started writing this story. Took me a while to get there, though.
> 
> Edit: Just realised I forgot to mention this: The gaelic words have hovertexts like usually. Also, please don't hit me if I fucked something up with the myths here, I admittedly didn't delve _that_ deep into them.

Jonathan couldn’t help but feel sad as he felt the presences of Elisabeth and Charlotte vanishing from the range of his senses. Four nights had passed by since their fight with Jacob, and the three ekons had spent most of the time together unless Jonathan had to work, the doctor first testing Charlotte’s blood (it was as infectious as her mother’s) and the three later on discussing their further plans. And while Charlotte was clearly shaken by the experiences of the last few nights, Jonathan had still enjoyed the time with the two women. But, as all good things, it had to end eventually. Neither of them had heard anything from Priwen after they had left the orphanage, and also nothing from Julia and Geoffrey. They knew it was only a matter of time before the guard would start hunting for Elisabeth and Charlotte, however, hence their need to leave. The two women would be staying in the Ashbury castle until Elisabeth had managed to find a estate closer to London that was still secluded enough to both avoid Priwen as well as contact with other humans – while his beloved did trust her own restrain enough after Jonathan had been able to finally convince her of not taking her life back in Scotland, the same did not apply to Charlotte yet, and they did not want to take any risks. The doctor smiled sadly at the young woman’s dismay as she realised she would not be able to campaign for the suffragettes any time soon, but she yielded to her mother’s arguments in the end.

 _I’m missing them already_. He sighed. _I shouldn’t dwell on it too much. Elisabeth is quite resourceful, so finding a closer location hopefully won’t take too much time_ , the ekon thought as the ringing of the doorbell stopped his pondering. Slightly alarmed, he focused his senses on the front door – were the hunters finally coming for him? But they surely wouldn’t ring… _Clarence!_ Wondering what his friend was doing here, Jonathan went out of his room just as Avery opened the door downstairs.

“Mr Crossley! What a pleasant surprise – I assume you are here to see Mr Jonathan?”, the elderly butler asked.

“Yes – is he here?”, Clarence’s voice enquired from the outside.

“I think so. I can get him for you”, Avery replied.

“There’s no need – nice to see you again, Clarence”, Jonathan intercepted as he went downstairs.

He could see his friend studying him carefully, before he asked “May I come in, Johnny? I need to talk with you”.

The ekon nodded, gesturing invitingly. “But of course – why don’t you join me in the living room?”.

“Do you wish to have some tea?”, Avery asked, closing the door behind Jonathan’s visitor.

“I think I would like a cup, if Clarence also wants some”, Jonathan replied, smirking slightly as he saw his friend’s surprised expression.

“I… yes, I think that would be nice”, Clarence finally said.

“Very well, I’ll bring it to you in a few minutes”, the butler stated, leaving them alone.

“Do you… I didn’t know you can drink tea – I always thought you only could… well, you know…”, Clarence stammered when he and Jonathan had arrived in the living room and settled themselves down.

“Actually, I can’t. Wouldn’t be able to keep it down, I’m afraid. But I still enjoy the smell and the social component of it”, the doctor replied with a shrug.

The other man blinked at that in surprise but nodded finally. “And then I thought vampires were repelled by plants…”, he mumbled.

“Only living ones, Clarence, and it’s not like we can’t bear with their presence – I’ve got no trouble with Lisa. Flowers can be a little bit unpleasant if still living, but I don’t think a plant can get any more dead than after being dried and cooked”, Jonathan explained. Their conversation was interrupted by Avery who brought the tea shortly after, the ekon using the time to study his friend. While he certainly seemed nervous, he still looked much better than he had ever since the war. His skin, having been pale and thin before, was now of a much healthier colour, the eyebags under his eyes also having vanished. And while he shifted uneasily under Jonathan’s assessing glance, he didn’t seem as twitchy and nervous as before. “You look well”, Jonathan finally stated as Avery had left the room again.

“I’m also feeling so – as much as I loathe to admit it, you and the police seem to be right with their claims of Venus being poisoning me. I’m also feeling less nervous since I’m with the guard, and I’m sleeping better”, Clarence stated, taking a sip of his tea and smiling approvingly at its taste.

“I see – that is nice to hear”, Jonathan replied, bringing his own cup to his nose and inhaling deeply. “But as happy as I am about your visit, I assume you’re not visiting for idle chatter. What brings you here, Clarence? You can speak freely, Avery’s in his room and won’t be able to hear us”, the ekon went on as she saw his friend shifting uneasily in his seat.

“Yes, I’m afraid you’re right about that. I’m here on Priwen’s behalf”, Clarence replied, taking another sip of his tea.

“Speak on”, Jonathan urged, placing his cup down onto the desk.

“Well, where to start… I assume you are aware about the arrangement between the two nemrods and Priwen?”, his friend enquired.

The doctor nodded curtly. “Yes – even though I am uncertain if it still stands. I have not heard from them since our fight with Mr Blackwood and I must admit that I am… concerned”. Clarence nodded knowingly, placing his cup onto the desk, too, and taking out a cigarette case.

“Of course – they have been locked up in their safehouse most of the time, so they wouldn’t have had the chance to see you. I assure you they’re doing well, though. There was quite some discussion about them the last few nights, you know – letting them aid us in our fights against Blackwood and its progeny had been a decision made by the head of the guard only, but they wanted an input of most of the higher-ranking members available before deciding if this was going to be a long-term arrangement or not… Do you want one, too?”, Jonathan’s friend went on, offering the doctor the opened cigarette case after taking one for himself.

The ekon shook his head. “I’m afraid not, Clarence – fire and vampires are not going along well, and voluntary breathing in smoke is less than appealing for me”.

“Oh. I guess I haven’t thought about that… do you mind if I…?”, Clarence enquired, his face dropping.

The doctor shrugged. “I’m not thrilled, but I’ve gotten used to the smell. Just go ahead”, he stated.

“Thanks”, the other man said, shooting the ekon an apologizing glance as he lit the cigarette, its for Jonathan’s senses alarming smell soon filling the air. “Where was I – ah, yes, as I said, we had quite a discussion. Not only about our nemrods – we decided to keep the arrangement, by the way – but also about other vampires who prove themselves to be more… benevolent than most. You, to be specific”, he went on, dropping some ash into the ash-tray that was placed on the desk.

“And what was the result of these discussions? Considering you came here alone, I assume they either went well for me or you came here to warn me, and I’d better run if I want to avoid of being forced to hurt someone”, Jonathan enquired.

Clarence smiled darkly at that. “Yes, you hurting someone if forced to defend yourself was one of the central points of the discussion, in fact. From what I’ve heard there, you must be a truly terrifying foe. But you’re also not only undeniably doing good work at Pembroke and some of the poorer districts – and believe me, they have verified that quite thoroughly – but you also actively helped to save this city _twice_ from an immortal threat. Therefore, Mr Benson – our new leader – has asked me to offer you a… proposal. A truce, _if_ you accept our terms”.

Surprised, Jonathan leaned back in his chair, taking a moment before he answered. “And what would those terms be?”.

“Well, first of all, you were not to hurt any human but in self-defence, obviously. Second, you would allow Priwen to observe your movements to make sure you keep on posing no threat. In exchange, we would not actively pursue you, nor were you attacked by any of the guards if passing by and making them know that it’s you”, Clarence explained.

“What about Elisabeth and Charlotte?”, the ekon enquired, leaning forwards again and taking a deep breath of his tea to get the smell of the cigarette Clarence had just stubbed out out of his nose.

“Well…”, his friend started, fidgeting at his sleeve and looking to the ground. “You’ll surely understand that Priwen can’t just ignore the threat their infected blood poses…”, he went on, his voice trailing off.

Jonathan clenched his jaw at that. “And _you’ll_ surely understand that I _won’t_ stand by if Priwen does any harm to my beloved or her daughter”, he said sharply. Guiltily, Clarence looked up, letting go of his sleeve.

“I know”, he said quietly, before adding, “and while this is not any _official_ statement, Mr Benson said I should tell you that Priwen sorts its list of targets after priority. As long as the two women don’t draw attention on themselves, we will have other priorities. They should avoid meeting any of our members, however, since we _will_ fight them at sight and Mr Benson also made very clear I should tell you that Priwen might shift their priorities if the threat of their tainted blood remains for too long”.

The doctor glanced away. _I assume I won’t get a better offer_ , he thought. _Actually, I’m surprised about THIS offer already._ “That sounds… acceptable. Only one thing, Clarence – if Priwen does not extend its truce towards Elisabeth and Charlotte, I _will_ have to withdraw myself from their surveillance occasionally. There is no way for me to work on the cure, otherwise, and I also will not have _Priwen_ stopping me from seeing my beloved!”, Jonathan stated after a moment.

His friend nodded at that. “Of course, Johnny, and actually, Priwen won’t be able to watch you all the time anyway – we even can’t do that with our two nemrods, so don’t you worry. We’ll mostly be concerned with the well-being of the humans surrounding you, to be honest”, he replied, a smile spreading over his face. “So, you’re taking the offer, I assume?”, he enquired.

Jonathan nodded. “Yes, Clarence. I’m actually quite relieved that I won’t have to keep looking over my shoulder for hunters all the time, to be honest”.

“I can imagine that”, his friend replied, still smiling. They sat in silence for a while, Clarence finishing his tea while Jonathan was lost in thoughts. “So, how are _you_ doing? I know that any wounds you might’ve gotten in this fight should be gone due to your lee… vampire healing, but I must admit, I am a little bit concerned”, Clarence finally enquired.

Jonathan’s brows went up in surprise. “I’m alright. But thank you. It was actually nice to have a few more quiet days to be honest, even though Pembroke is still bursting with patients. But we seem to get fewer cases of influenza, and there are certainly fewer deaths, which is a relief”.

His friend nodded at that, his expression turning into a thoughtful frown. “So… how are you doing it? Working as a doctor, I mean? There must be blood everywhere and considering _your_ line of expertise…”, he asked.

Jonathan shifted in his chair uneasily. “It is… challenging, I must admit”, he finally said quietly, looking towards the ground. “I managed to avoid conducting most of the surgery’s myself, actually, but I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep that up. I’m still wondering what exactly Edgar was _thinking_ when employing me for the position of the _head surgeon_ of all things! One of the nurses already asked if I’m suffering of haemophobia after noticing my problems during one of the surgeries, and while I explained to her that I keep having problems with it since the war, this might very well cost me my job eventually”, he went on, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

“I’m sorry to hear that”, Clarence replied silently. Surprised, the ekon looked up, meeting his friend’s compassionate glance.

“I will manage. I have half a mind of taking a job more focusing on research than healing if it ever comes to that – I won’t have as many problems if working with blood samples and corpses instead of living humans. It’s just that I’ll miss the patients. While I did always enjoy conducting research, I studied medicine to heal people, not to lock myself away in a lab. But what about you, Clarence? What are you doing in the guard – or is that restricted information?”

“No, it isn’t – actually part of my assignment will be of some importance to you”, Clarence stated with a smile, shaking his head.

“It is?”, the doctor enquired curiously.

“Yes – while I am partly working in my old job as bookkeeper again – in Priwen’s employ of course, and you wouldn’t _believe_ how relieved Esther was when I took over some of her duties – I will also be assigned as one of your guards, Johnny. They thought it’d be the easiest way, and I certainly don’t disagree. I actually… well, I thought we could meet like this more often. Like in old times. I mean, it’s not exactly like this, with you being what you are… but it’d still be nice. Kind of”, Clarence replied, brushing through his hair nervously.

Jonathan could feel a broad grin spreading over his face at that. “Well of course, Clarence, I’d be delighted! You could come over for dinner regularly if you want – I think Avery would enjoy if _someone_ in this house ate again and I’m also afraid he might grow suspicious if I keep claiming that I’m eating at Pembroke”.

“Sounds good to me – I’m a terrible cook, and since Venus is…”, Clarence replied, his voice trailing off.

The doctor shot him a compassionate look at that. “How is she?”, he enquired silently.

His friend shrugged unhappily. “She’s locked up and I’m not allowed to see her until the trial starts. She… she might face death penalty, Johnny!”, Clarence exclaimed, distraught. Jonathan glanced away, looking towards the ground broodingly.

“I know”, he finally stated. “And it is nothing I ever have wished for her. But it was the only way I saw to save you, Clarence. I’m sorry”.

“I understand. And while I still can’t hate her for what she did, I also don’t resent you anymore for your actions. You did what was right when you also had the possibility to do much, much worse things to her and actually I’m… grateful for that, Johnny. I’ll see that I try to get her off death penalty with my testimony at court, and I would never have had this possibility if you had… well, you know”, Clarence replied.

Jonathan nodded. “Do that”, he said tonelessly. They talked a little bit more about more mundane things, Clarence emptying Jonathan’s cup of tea while doing so, when they were interrupted by a quiet knock at the front door catching the ekon’s attention. “I think I’ve got another visitor – that’s Julia”, the doctor said, getting up.

“That’s my signal to leave, then”, Clarence stated, also getting up.

“You don’t have to – I’m sure she never would…”, Jonathan started, but Clarence interrupted him.

“I know, Johnny, she’s with Priwen now, remember? But, frankly, I really just don’t want to talk with this woman”, he said coldly. The ekon nodded silently, going for the door while Clarence followed him, taking his cane and shrugging into his jacket on the way.

* * *

Julia relished the fresh smell in the night air as she went towards the West End. She had spent most of the last nights locked up with Geoffrey in the safehouse while Priwen discussed about their future, and whereas she and the hunter had certainly made good use of their time together, being able to walk around outside again still felt good. While Priwen had spent a lot of time the last few nights with discussing about Geoffrey’s and Julia’s future, they had also worked on resolving their matters with the police, the fact that Geoffrey had several contacts in the institution besides the ones Joseph had been dealing with as well as the testimony of several people Priwen had saved during their nightly ventures had helped immensely. Geoffrey needed to meet some of said contacts personally to completely resolve the matters, however, and Julia had decided to use the time of the hunter’s absence for visiting Jonathan and Usher Talltree.

Ignoring the disparaging glances she got from the West Enders due to her more than worn-out clothes, Julia headed towards the doctor’s mansion, halting shortly as she recognised the presence inside. _Clarence – shit. I thought he’d be gone already_. The two of them had met when Julia and Geoffrey had been invited for Priwen’s discussion for some hours, but while Clarence had been perfectly polite and even supportive in some cases, his glares in her direction had made clear that he was far from forgiving her. With a small sigh, Julia braced herself as she knocked silently at the front door – she only wanted to have a short word with Jonathan, and Clarence would probably also see her occasionally when she hunted with Priwen, so they’d need to learn to deal with each other anyway.

“Julia – nice to see you to be well! Please, come in!”, the doctor greeted her as soon as he opened the door, Clarence standing behind him and glaring daggers at her just like Julia had suspected.

“Ah, ’s much as I’d love to have a longer chat with you, Jonathan, I’m afraid I’m in kind of a hurry. I wanted to return the books to the primate – one of the scouts told us he’s returned to his usual place – and since Geoffrey and I are plannin’ to go on a hunt ‘s soon as he’s done with his business at the Scotland Yard, I’d rather not risk to lose track of time while chatting. Maybe in a few days? You… you have accepted Priwen’s offer, didn’t you?”, Julia replied, suddenly feeling nervous.

Much to her relief, Jonathan nodded. “Yes, I did. So, what brings you here, then?”, he enquired.

“Just wanted to tell you that Geoffrey and I are fine – I knew Mr Crossley would tell you the same, but I thought you might rather see it for yourself”, the female ekon answered, meeting Clarence’s gaze defiantly. She understood his disdain for her decision regarding Venus, but she stood to it. It had been the right thing to do, even if not very kind. “Also, I wanted to ask… I understand if you can’t tell us ‘bout their whereabouts, but are Lady Ashbury and Charlotte alright?”, Julia asked further, turning her gaze back to the doctor.

“Yes, they are, even though Charlotte will certainly need a while to find her old self again. If ever. Shall I give them your regards?”, the male ekon answered with kind expression.

Julia nodded. “Please, do that – I… I might have a letter for your lady when I visit you next time, actually, and I’d be grateful if you could bring it to her and return the eventual answer to me. And tell Charlotte that if she’s really sorry, she’d better start searchin’ for a way to do somethin’ useful with her un-life. Does wonders to one’s mental health. But anyway, I gotta get going – I guess we’ll see each other soon”, she said, slightly blushing at the first sentence.

“I’m looking forward to it, and of course I will hand Elisabeth your letter – give the primate my regards, will you?”, Jonathan bid his farewell.

“Aye, I will”, Julia said, waving her hand and leaving the two men behind as she headed to temple church.

* * *

The huntress sighed quietly as she leaned herself against the wall of Temple church, craning her neck to look at the night sky. Her conversation with Talltree had been rather brief, the primate telling her that she should keep the books, her safeguarding them while staying with Priwen doing him a much greater favour than having them returned. Julia took that offer only too gladly, delighted about the prospect of keeping the notes from her grandfather. The primate had seemed to be eerily smug about the fact of Priwen working together with her and Geoffrey, but he had declined resolutely to answer her question what about it was so funny. His answer to Julia’s other question, enquiring where the blood he had given them came from, had been declined even more harshly. _One day, I’ll find out_ , the huntress thought decidedly. It had been the blood of a powerful immortal, of that she was certain, since the taste had reminded her very much of William Marshal’s blood Lord Redgrave had forced her to drink. _But I guess that’ll have time. I probably should head back to the safehouse, even though Geoffrey probably still needs a little while_ , Julia thought. Before she could start moving, a presence made her head spin around, however.

The ekon approaching her seemed not really remarkable. While his short, red curls as well as the ginger, well-trimmed beard would make him stick out a little bit, he was totally unremarkable in any other regard. He was of a relatively small stature, his wiry body being clad in sturdy, but high-quality clothes and his pale, blue-green eyes mirroring Julia’s. All in all, Julia wouldn’t even have thought him ever as a threat if not for one fact: The deep, unsettling feeling she felt in her bones as soon as she had sensed his presence.

“Nimrod”, she breathed, cocking her crossbow at him within a blink of an eye.

“Hello, Childe. Are you planning to use this weapon against me? If so, I’d suggest you go ahead, otherwise I’d appreciate it if you could lower it. It could make people nervous”, he replied with a smug expression on his face, Julia instantly recognising his voice from her mind-to-mind conversations.

“I’m still considering”, she replied curtly.

Nimrod arched a brow. “Really? So, you think you are a match for me?”.

Only a few weeks ago, Julia would’ve said that it’s worth a try and just shot him. Now, however… _I’d probably lose anyway, and this’d be a good chance to finally get some answers from him…_ , she pondered, tensing and desperately trying to use the techniques Geoffrey had started to teach her to shield herself from him as she felt a slight touch on her mind.

 ** _Nice try, Childe, but you need more practice to succeed with this. I am delighted to see that you’re learning, however_** , Nimrod’s thoughts sounded in her mind, the smug smile on his face broadening.

 _There’s no point in attacking him now. He’d see every movement coming before I’d even be doing it_ , Julia realised, lowering her crossbow and clasping it at her belt with an unwilling growl.

“Wise choice, I’d rather not have had started our conversation with showing you your place. Oh, don’t look at me like this, Childe – you’re still a neonate, after all. Have patience. Who knows, maybe you’ll even be able to beat me in a few centuries”, the red-haired ekon stated with a low chuckle.

Julia glared furiously at him, the fact that every fibre of her being told her that he was the one who had made her into what she was certainly not helping. “What do you want, Nimrod?”, she enquired sharply.

Her maker arched a brow. “Well, since I will be leaving for the continent soon, I assumed I owed you at least one face-to-face conversation so you might ask me any questions you might have. If this assumption was wrong, I can leave you to your own business immediately”, he stated dryly.

Julia clenched her teeth. “So, you’ll finally be answerin’ my questions instead of just evading half of them or givin’ incomplete answers?”, she enquired sourly.

The other ekon shrugged. “Depends on the question. But why don’t we move this conversation to a quieter place? I think I know just the right location – follow me”, he stated, turning around and shadow-jumping onto a small recess of the church, working his way up higher and higher with each jump. Suppressing a curse, Julia hurried to follow him, surprised by his speed – she had always been faster than most immortals she met, but her speed was nothing compared to Nimrod’s.

Panting slightly, Julia came finally to a halt next to him on the roof of the circular part of the building. “The roof of the church – really?”, she enquired. Nimrod shrugged, his hand gesticulating towards the view in front of them.

“Nobody will be able to listen to our conversation here. Also, I do quite enjoy the view. I brought Valentin once up here, he was so delighted I had a hard time to convince him to leave again. One would think he’d have been more concerned about slipping and falling as a mortal, but then I guess your grandfather had always a tendency to be a little bit… reckless”. He turned towards her. “Does this place find your approval for our conversation?”, he enquired earnestly.

Julia nodded. “Aye – and I agree, it’s really quite a view”, she said.

“Good”, her maker replied, sitting down casually onto the roof, his legs dangling carelessly from the roof’s rim. Carefully, the huntress settled down next to him, sorting through her thoughts. “So, tell me, Childe, what do you want to know?”, Nimrod enquired after a moment.

“Why did you turn me? And don’t hand me that shit ‘bout ‘fightin’ fire with fire’ – you could’ve turned anyone for that! Was it some kind of sick retribution after letting my grandpa die?”, the female ekon asked through gritted teeth.

Her maker shot her a surprised glance, before turning his gaze back towards the city beneath them. “Retribution? Surely not, Childe. In fact, I am certain Valentin is quite furious at me for my actions should he be able to watch us from Tech Duinn. No, I chose you not because of your family or your skills, but because I thought you had the character needed for what I sought. As you might have realised, hunting alone can be quite trying sometimes. Therefore, I have created progeny repeatedly”, he replied.

“And you _really_ think that I’d go hunting with _you_ after you _stole my life!?_ And what do you mean you chose me because of my _character_!? I’m not a bloody murderer!”, Julia exclaimed furiously.

Nimrod shook his head, his gaze still being fixed on the view beneath him. “No, you aren’t. Which is exactly the point of it, Childe – I have been forced to destroy more than one of my progenies since they became the very thing I intend to hunt! And whilst I know you won’t be accompanying me in my hunt for now, I can’t be everywhere at once. Hence my need for progeny”.

Julia huffed at that, glancing away from him. “But why did you abandon me, then? Isn’t that kinda counterproductive if you wanted to make me a bloody leech huntress?”, she enquired after a moment, only barely keeping herself from shouting at him.

“I’ve never abandoned you Childe – do you think it was a coincidence you woke up on a pile of corpses created by our very prey? Do you think it a coincidence that I told you how to destroy an immortal exactly when you needed it and do you think it a coincidence that the district of Whitechapel that had been troubled with feral beasts all nights before and afterwards was peaceful just in the right moment when neither you nor my brother couldn’t rely on each other in a fight and needed time to talk?”, Nimrod enquired sharply.

Julia paused at that, pondering. “So, it was _you_ Jonathan sensed back then?”, she enquired, remembering their search for whoever stalked them when she had followed the doctor the first time on his rounds.

Her maker shrugged. “Yes – this brother mine has quite keen senses for one of his age. I thought it’d be better if you had time to talk with him and I must admit, I needed to know if he was trustworthy or not and you were the best way to get this information”. He turned towards her, grinning as he bared his fangs. “Also, I was thirsty and those skals were, other than infected ekons, no threat of infection for someone with my bloodline”, he admitted.

Julia thought about that for a moment, before enquiring, “I still don’t understand why you didn’t just show up right after my awakening. I would’ve been no match for you and you explaining me things would’ve saved me from a lot of trouble”.

Nimrod sighed at that, looking at her intently. “Tell me, Childe – why are you hunting blood drinkers?”, he asked.

The female ekon frowned at that. “You must know that already”.

“I want to hear it from your mouth, in your words”, he retorted.

Julia shrugged. “Isn’t it obvious? I just won’t stand by while _monsters_ kill innocent people!”, she stated firmly.

Her maker nodded thoughtfully. “So, if I told you to stop, you wouldn’t?”, he enquired.

The woman snorted at that. “Of course not – I’d probably do it all the more just to spite you”.

“And if I told you to kill a _specific_ immortal – what would you do then?”, Nimrod asked, a smile on his lips.

“I… I guess I’d first ask you why, and then I’d do some research on the leech and decide then”, the huntress replied after a moment of consideration.

Nimrod nodded again. “Exactly. You see, Julia, I didn’t want to simply create a _puppet_. If that would have been my intention, I would’ve searched for someone with a weak mind and forced them under my control right after their awakening. But while this kind of creature would do anything I would bid for, it would not be what I _wanted_ or _needed_. I need someone who thinks on their own account, who hunts not because they were _raised_ to do so, because they want to _please_ their maker or because of blind hatred, I need someone who hunts because they think it is _necessary_. I needed someone who would join my hunt for the right reasons, otherwise I would just send another of my Children to meet its doom. And believe me, I did make many mistakes in the past and many of my progenies have suffered for it – one should never underestimate the influence a maker-progeny bond has upon prolonged interactions. But from what I have seen of you until now, you were none of those mistakes”, he explained, his gaze filled with… pride?

Shifting uneasily, Julia glanced away. “But what if I hadn’t decided to prey on leeches? What if I had chosen, say, criminals? I‘ve considered it in the beginning, you know”, she stated.

Nimrod’s gaze turned cold. “Then I would have destroyed you, Childe, as I have already done with many others. I would have restrained myself if you had decided to follow Dr Reid’s path, or even the one of his beloved after she had been cured from her curse, but I do not tolerate murderers and if I should ever find you stooping as low as this, I will make sure you find your end”, he said icily.

Shivering upon the malice in his voice, Julia turned her gaze back to the city. “I see”, she stated softly. “London. Why did you want me to come here? Because of Jacob? But you didn’t seem to want me fightin’ him…”, she asked after a while.

Nimrod shook his head, his gaze also turning towards the view in front of them. “No. I only realised Blackwood still to be breathing when I arrived here and saw his handiwork on the poor Ms Billow. No, I had wanted you to go to London since my maker – I think you know him as Myrddin Wyllt – had told me he was about to create new progeny. I must admit I did not expect you to follow my order so soon, however. I had actually thought you would take your time in Dublin, cleansing the poor city from the infestation it is bearing with for decades now and developing your abilities while doing so – this letter you found on this poor Priwen guard certainly ruined my plans. You cannot imagine _how_ concerned I was you’d either fall by my brother’s claws or you’d end him yourself before he could finish the deed Myrddin had created him for”.

Surprised, Julia turned towards him. “You made me to fight _Jonathan_? But couldn’t you just do that yourself if needed? I mean, your bloodline is as strong ‘s his’ and you’re far older than him, aren’t you?”, she enquired, studying him intensely.

Nimrod turned around to her, his eyes calculating. “Of course I would have been able to do so, but that was not my concern, Childe. Before I met Lady Blackwood, whom I had thought to be deceased for over a century now, I had always assumed the antidote my fallen brother William Marshal had managed to find after all these years to be a failure. And while Myrddin seemed to be optimistic about his new progeny’s chances, I was not. If Dr Reid had gotten infected, turning onto the very land he was created to protect, _someone_ would have needed to stop him, and I could _not_ risk becoming infected myself. I needed a… distraction in case it comes to an open fight”, he explained coolly.

“You stole my life ‘cause you needed a bloody _bait_!? Who do you think you are!?”, Julia shouted, springing up and trembling with fury.

“No. I stole your life because I needed someone to have an eye on this region after my last progeny located here died about 70 years ago. Dr Reid’s rebirth only caused me to start the process earlier than planned”, he said calmly, apparently unfazed by Julia’s wrath.

“Is that so? Has it _ever_ occurred to you that I was a human being with wishes, plans, and a _life_ , not just some bloody _pawn_ of yours!?”, she exclaimed with balled fists.

Her maker chuckled at that. “Ah, you see, that is why I love neonates – we older immortals tend to get so disillusioned with time. Being reminded about the way mortals tend to think can be quite refreshing. But to answer your question before you attack me and I have to hurt you – yes, of course the thought occurred to me. But all mortals have to die eventually, Julia, and I found your premature end a high, but necessary price to pay considering the possible gain”, he explained.

“You… you are despicable!”, Julia hissed, turning around and heading towards the other end of the roof, closing her eyes to calm herself down.

“I would never deny that, Childe. But I would suggest repeating this discussion in a century or so, you will find your opinion regarding some things change with time”, Nimrod said after a while, having stepped next to her. Julia only growled at that, but bit back her remark. It would be of no use.

“How old are you? How many years did it need for you to forget the value of a human life?”, she finally hissed.

Her maker sighed. “Believe it or not, but the value people thought a human life has was much lower when I was born than it is now, Childe. But I’m afraid I cannot answer your question. My people… we used a different system to count seasons than you do, we never counted the years in the way the Christians do and my travels through the world have made it even harder to keep a track of time. All I can tell you is that I used to revere to the Morrígan and the other Túatha Dé Danann in my youth and that I was born long before the Romans started to convert my people to believe in their god”, he replied silently, his gaze thoughtful.

Julia’s eyes widened at that, her meagre knowledge of history telling her that this must mean Nimrod to be very old indeed. “You’re not really called ‘Nimrod’, are you?”, she asked.

Her maker scoffed amusedly. “No. Of course not. But what’s in a name, Childe? Every immortal has many of them if they just live long enough and you wouldn’t be able to pronounce my birth name properly anyway. Some priest used to call me Nimrod as a foolish comparison to some story in their holy book, even if he always claimed I would not look the part. I decided to keep it in the end, since it was given to me due to one of the gravest mistakes I’ve ever made, and I do not wish to repeat it ever again. I have stuck to the name ever since if I didn’t need to do otherwise”, he said with a mixture of amusement and sadness.

“What mistake was that?”, the female ekon asked curiously after a moment of silence.

“I’d rather not talk about it. It led to the death of many people I cherished, let us leave it by that”. He glanced at her. “Hm. Maybe… Just let me tell you this – be careful with your allegiance with those vampire hunters. While this generation remembers why it came to the decision it made, the following ones _will_ forget. You must remind them if you do not wish a repeat of the story causing me to choose my name and you _should_ make sure every new recruit of Priwen learns of the existence of you and your mate as soon as possible if you do not wish Priwen to splinter like the brotherhood did”, he warned her.

Julia sighed. “I guess I’d be stupid to disregard your advice in this but is it _really so_ hard to just tell me what happened?”, she enquired impatiently.

“Yes. It is. I do not wish to relive these events if I am not forced to and you are in no need of this information, Childe”, Nimrod replied sharply. Julia flinched at that but decided to cave. For the moment, at least.

“I’ve got another question…”, she started.

“Then I’d suggest you ask since this is the very reason I’ve searched you out”, her maker replied wryly.

Julia rolled her eyes at that, but asked, nevertheless. “We noticed that Geoffrey and I seem to be… elusive to leech senses sometimes. And since you seem to share this trait, I was wonderin’ if it might be due to our nutrition…”.

Nimrod nodded. “Ah, yes. You see, whilst the brotherhood _did_ have quite some downfall since their foundation, they _do_ have reasons when they proclaim a new species of immortals. And I have found our body to be… adjusting to our prey. The effect you just described will strengthen over the years, until no immortal will be able to sense you if they are not immensely powerful or you are showing your presence on purpose or by engaging into a fight. Do not mistake it for a shadow veil, however, since it does work in another way. They will still be able to see you, they will even walk around you if you are standing in their way, but you will not register to them unless you try to interact. And even if you chose to speak with them, they would not see you as a threat if they do not have experience with our kind like the Earl of Bristol had. The same applies to mortals”.

He smiled slightly. “Actually, I would be interested to know how this exactly works – please inform me if this brother mine ever decides to have a closer look at it with that scientific mind of his. You should be careful with this ability, however, since it is not entirely reliable. They might still sense you if they expect you to be coming and it will not hide you from them like a shadow-veil does if your presence is already known. Also, if a blood drinker is informed about our kind like the Earl of Bristol was, they will realise the threat you pose”.

Julia nodded, lost in thoughts. “Anythin’ else I should know ‘bout… nemrods?”, she asked, the term ‘nemrod’ feeling quite weird while talking to the very person it had been named after.

Nimrod tilted his head. “Hm. There are some things, but I think you should explore most of them by yourself, immortality can be terribly boring so you should always have something to amuse yourself with. But you might have already realised your blood-sense to be reaching farther than my brother’s. He will probably have caught up with you in some decades, but I _did_ notice it to develops faster in our kind. You will also find human blood to become less… appealing over time while the blood of immortals will call to you more strongly”, he stated.

Julia arched an eyebrow. “Is that so? I remember your bite quite clearly, Nimrod”, she said mockingly.

“There was no reason to let your blood go to waste, Childe, and it also prevented you from struggling too much”, her maker replied with a smirk before sobering. “Also, the turning process will be faster and more likely successful if the target is close to death. The quality and amount of the blood given also plays a role, of course, but regarding the quality _you_ will surely never have to trouble yourself. Neither do I”.

“I guess that’s good to know, even though I am _certainly_ not planning on creating any progeny”, Julia retorted.

“Of course not”, Nimrod said mockingly, the two of them falling into silence again while watching the city beneath them. “I think I should get going and from what I’ve gathered from your thoughts you also have places to be. You know how to contact me now if you need me, even though I must warn you that I will not be available to come to your aid anytime soon”, Nimrod finally stated.

Julia nodded silently, still somewhat lost in her thoughts. “Will we see each other again or will you just stay the obnoxious voice in my head?”, she asked.

Her maker shrugged. “You probably won’t see me in any near future, but I might stop by if I’m in the region and I’m certain enough Priwen won’t try to kill me while I do so. Running away from these hunters can be such a nuisance…”

“Then it’s a ‘see you’ instead of a ‘farewell’, I guess”, Julia said with a smirk.

“Probably. If you don’t manage to get yourself killed until I’m back, that is”.

The huntress scoffed at that, the two ekons heading down to the road afterwards. With a last wave of his hand, Nimrod turned away from her, heading down the street. Then, he was suddenly gone. _I guess I should also go back, Geoffrey’s probably done with the Scotland Yard by now – ha, I wonder how he reacts if I tell him about this encounter_ , Julia thought, slowly starting to move towards the safehouse, a smile playing on her lips and her pace quickening as she thought of the hunter and the events the rest of the night would entail. Also, she was hungry, and a good hunt was the best way to deal with that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Nimrod and Julia _finally_ had a face to face conversation. About time, I'd say. 
> 
> @Writing Flower: You surely have noticed the resemblies of Nimrod's appearance to your Bill - can you imagine my surprise when I read the first chapter where you described him while looking young? Especially since you literally posted it _one day_ before I wrote this one here, so I had really everything already planned out. And then your chapter came around and I was like "is that telepathy?", lol.


	39. Epilogue - Two Years Later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the epilogue. ~~I'm kinda sad it's over.~~
> 
> Also, beware the fluff in here!

Sea spray hit Julia’s face as she stepped out onto the deck of the fairy bringing them to Dublin. Ignoring the wind that ruffled through her hair, she closed the door behind her, cutting off the distinct smell of cigarette smoke. Inhaling deeply, the ekon went to the ship’s rail, smiling while her gaze went over the wide body of water. The last few nights had been quite stressful, the preparations needed for Julia’s and Geoffrey’s change of location taking all their time and the ekon was glad to finally have some quiet time. While the situation in London had finally stabilised a few months ago, Priwen managing to get rid of at least the most malicious immortals who had tried to use the power vacuum ensuing after Ascalon’s downfall, the situation in Dublin had gotten even worse than two years before. Several leeches were using the unrest in the city to go on a killing spree without anyone noticing and things had started to escalate after one of Priwen’s outposts had been attacked. Hence Thomas’ decision to send Priwen’s two nemrods to the green isle to clean things up. Julia hadn’t stood long at the rail as the door opened again, a disgruntled looking Geoffrey slamming it behind him shortly afterwards.

“I assume you didn’t get him to put his cigarette out, then?”, the woman enquired.

“Bloody bastard even lit a new one, claiming it’d protect him from the flu. When I pointed out that the fecking epidemic was two years ago he just shrugged and said one could never be careful enough. Those rookies are getting worse every year, I tell you”, the man grumbled, stepping beside her.

Julia scoffed. “What a bullshit – my aunt smoked like a chimney and was still killed by the flu”, she commented.

“If you want go back in there and tell him that, feel free to do so”, Geoffrey huffed, resting his arms on the railing.

“Nah, I don’t think that’d be of any use and I enjoy the smell of the sea anyway”, Julia replied, also resting her arms on the rail like he did and humming comfortably as Geoffrey curled his arm around her waist.

“Did your last chat with our doctor leech bring any news? Any great breakthroughs?”, the hunter enquired after a while. The female ekon shook her head. About half a year ago and after many, many unsuccessful approaches, Jonathan had finally managed to find something neutralising the infectious effect in Elisabeth’s and Charlotte’s blood. It had to be injected into a rat or another animal’s veins before they drank it, however, and it would only work for a few days before the two women’s blood got infectious again.

“No, even though he says his newest recipe doesn’t cause the rodents to die within the next hour anymore. He told me that Clarence might have a new flame, however”, the huntress retorted.

Geoffrey raised his eyebrows. “Really? So, he’s finally over that poisoner of his?”, he enquired disbelievingly.

“Well, he has been somewhat more amicable towards me the last few weeks, despite Venus still bein’ in that prison for mentally disturbed people – not that anyone would expect her to get out of there anytime soon, but still... Jonathan’s not sure who it is, though, since Clarence refused to talk about it”.

The hunter hummed thoughtfully at that, drawing her a little bit closer. “What about the two women? Is Charlotte still writing so many letters?”, he asked after a moment. Julia nodded. After almost a year past the events in the orphanage, Charlotte had started to work for the suffragettes again. While she couldn’t campaign as before since Priwen had her still on their list, even if with very low priority since the temporary cure Jonathan had found, she was now writing a lot of letters to all kinds of places and spending probably horrendous amounts of money to help the cause.

“Aye, she’s even writin’ more of them than before – Jonathan said Lady Ashbury should probably just start to order new paper every week. Apropos order… he said I should thank you for that plant you sent him. He named it George and put it right next to Lisa – _please_ tell me he was not talking ‘bout the plant the boys found in that abandoned house that vulkod used as a hideout”, the huntress replied, glancing at the male ekon.

“Why – I thought it looks rather nice and since Reid seems to like plants…”, Geoffrey retorted, looking at her innocently.

Julia groaned. “Geoffrey, do you have any idea _what_ that plant was?”, she asked.

The hunter shrugged. “Indulge me”.

Julia groaned again. “It’s a kalanchoe – my mom had one in her bedroom. They start blooming when they’re kept in the dark for a longer amount of time and since he keeps sleepin’ in that room…” She shook her head. “His nose will be constantly itching and knowin’ Jonathan he’ll be too sentimental to put it elsewhere”.

“Really? Well, then I suppose he’d better go home instead of sleeping in his office all the time, so the poor little plant gets some light. You could tell him that in your next letter”, the hunter replied, apparently unfazed.

Julia stared at him disbelievingly. “You knew, didn’t you?”, she finally enquired.

Geoffrey smirked. “Maybe…”.

“You’re impossible! I can’t believe it!”, the woman exclaimed, boxing into the hunter’s side.

“Ouch! Come on, I’m just trying to get him going home more often – seriously, if that lady leech hadn’t managed to get someone of the brotherhood appointed as new administrator of that hospital, they’d probably removed the boards from his windows ages ago and he wouldn’t be able to sleep there anyway!”. Julia just rolled her eyes, punching him again. “Ow! I think I should teach you proper manners, young lady!”, Geoffrey growled playfully, grabbing her hands and starting to tickle her mercilessly.

“Ah, stop, stop it! I’ll behave, please, I’ll behave!”, Julia exclaimed, wriggling in his grip.

“Really?” Geoffrey enquired, turning her around and circling his arms around her. “I think I should put this to a test when we’re in Dublin…”, he breathed into her ear.

“And you really think Joseph’s gonna give us any privacy before we didn’t kill at least half a dozen leeches? He’ll be breathin’ down our neck the whole time, I promise you”, Julia replied, resting her head against his shoulder. While most of Priwen had agreed on taking Julia and Geoffrey in, there had also been dissenting voices, one of the strongest being the former Priwen captain who had been stripped of his rank after he had fully recovered of the mesmerisation Warner had once put on him. About a year ago, it had almost seemed as if Priwen would break into two different groups because of this argument, but in the end, Thomas had managed to keep them together. As a consequence, the two nemrods had been assigned with several permanent guards to make sure they wouldn’t step out of line, one of those guards being Joseph.

“He’s gotten much better since you held him out of that window after he went into your room without knocking while you were naked… I also wondered if we couldn’t just skip that visit at your cousin’s and use the free time for more… pleasant things, instead”, Geoffrey said seductively, placing several small kisses on Julia’s exposed neck.

“Sounds lovely”, Julia sighed, her hands exploring his back. “But I’ve promised him that I’ll come, and I think he deserves a face-to-face conversation after the stunt I pulled two years ago”.

“Hmmm. You still not sure what to tell him?”, Geoffrey enquired, withdrawing from her neck and looking into her eyes.

The woman shook her head. “No – it depends on what he knows ‘bout leeches, really. Grandpa was always very blatant in his vampire stories and while my father’s insisting of him shuttin’ up ‘bout it when he caught grandpa telling them kept _me_ from getting’ that much knowledge about them, things may be differently for Stephen. I guess I’ll just have to see if he brandishes a cross against me ‘s soon as I walk in or not. Also, I would just feel bad if I wouldn’t invite him… he’s the last livin’ member of my family, after all!”, Julia replied, running with her thumb over the new engagement ring on her ring finger and smiling as she remembered Geoffrey’s proposal.

“I guess… even though we still have months to get our invitation to him and we’ll probably be staying in Dublin for a while – we could slack a little bit…”, Geoffrey replied, his hands wandering down on her back.

“Hmmm… maybe”, Julia agreed, leaning herself against him.

“Oi, love birdies! Captain said we’ll be arriving within the next fifteen minutes, so you’d better get your stuff – we must be leaving the port as fast as we can, after all!”, a voice, coming from the door, called out. With a reluctant sigh, Geoffrey broke his embrace, taking Julia’s hand as they went towards the door.

“What a fuss…”, Julia complained silently, but she didn’t object in earnest. Considering the unrests in Dublin and the rest of Ireland, Priwen had to be very cautious when moving armoury or people to the isle, and both ekons wouldn’t want to cause any problems in this situation. And indeed, only a few minutes later the harbour came into sight, the fairy docking shortly after.

Arm in arm, their luggage in their other hands, Julia and Geoffrey left the ship, Julia smiling brightly as she finally set foot into Dublin again. When she had left this city two years ago, she had been utterly lost, her life lying in ruins and violence awaiting her wherever she went. And while the violence had not vanished from her life, there were also good things now. She was doing a work she enjoyed and believed to be needed with the man she loved at her side, friends awaiting them in- and outside of the guard. Despite all the danger and violence she was facing every night, life was good. _Or un-life, that is_ , she thought with a smile, hugging Geoffrey even tighter, the two ekons vanishing into the dark night together with the Priwen patrols following them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's over, it seems. I kind of can't believe it. It was a long ride, that's for sure.
> 
> Before you all leave here, I just wanted to give my thanks to each and every one who commented and/or kudoed (is that a word?) - I was happy about each of them. I also really hope that you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. And... that's it, I guess. ~~At least until I finish some of my other ideas and upload them here or see some of you when _you_ upload your precious stories~~.


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